Though the number of active Covid-19 cases in Mumbai have surged 20-fold in the last one month, only one per cent of the patients required hospitalisation. At major private hospitals, beds meant for Covid-19 patients are mostly vacant, shows BMC data. On March 1, Mumbai had 47 active cases, which rose to 937 on March 31. However, most of the patients were asymptomatic and did not require hospitalisation. For instance, on March 30, when Mumbai reported 192 fresh cases – the highest this year – only 13 patients required hospitalisation. Similarly, on March 31, among the 177 patients, only 22 had to be hospitalised. According to BMC, on March 31, of the 4,349 beds reserved for Covid-19 patients, only 57 were occupied, with a bed occupancy of 1.31 per cent. Among the 57, 41 patients were admitted in public hospitals and the remaining in private hospitals. “Though the number of Covid-19 cases is rising, very few patients require hospitalisation. Most patients are stable and do not require hospitalisation,” Dr Anita Mathew, Infectious Disease Specialist at Fortis Hospital, said. “The Covid-19 ward and ICUs can cater to the current need. If the cases increase, we would be able to ramp up rapidly,” she added. On Saturday, Maharashtra reported 669 Covid-19 cases, of which 189 were reported from Mumbai. The ongoing genome sequencing show that Omicron variant XBB.1.16 is behind the spike in cases. The symptoms of the new sub-variant are almost the same as that of Omicron variant, like fever, body ache, fatigue and muscle pain among others. Dr Pradeep Awate, former state surveillance officer, said, “With mass vaccination, we have been able to attain herd immunity. Due to the presence of antibodies, we might get infected but the virulence will be mild.” Doctors said a large number of patients are getting detected with Covid-19, while undergoing treatment for other diseases. “Mostly patients getting admitted have comorbidities and had been hospitalised for other ailments,” Dr Neeraj Tulara, Infectious Disease Specialist at Dr L H Hiranandani Hospital, said. Pregnant women, meanwhile, have been advised to take the third vaccine shot against Covid-19. At Seven Hills hospital, where around 40 patients were admitted on Thursday, one-fourth of them were pregnant women or lactating mothers. Dr Mathew said, “A few patients getting admitted are pregnant or people who have other comorbidities. They have mild symptoms such as cough and cold.”
