All patients and their relatives have to wear masks while visiting hospitals in Mumbai, as per a directive given by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Monday. Senior citizens have also been advised to wear masks, although it has not been made compulsory. The move, however, comes on a day when the state reported a drop of 58 per cent in Covid-19 cases. A day after recording 788 cases, it plunged to 328 on Monday. Mumbai's daily Covid-19 case count dropped below 100, to 95. The number of active Covid-19 cases in Mumbai had increased by ten fold in the last one month. Taking note of it, BMC Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal held a meeting on Monday, in which several important decisions were taken, such as increasing daily testing, procurement of medicines and increasing the number of ventilators, among others. Most importantly, as a preventive measure, the BMC has made it mandatory for all health workers in hospitals to wear masks. Along with this, patients and their relatives visiting the hospitals would also have to follow the rule. “The footfall of patients with Covid symptoms has increased at the OPDs. So, amid the crowd, non-infected patients can contract the infection from infected patients. Keeping this in mind, the decision to make masks mandatory inside hospitals has been taken,” said an official from BMC. Also, as the elderly are most vulnerable to contracting Covid-19, the BMC advised them to wear masks while stepping out in the crowd. “Although wearing a mask is not mandatory, it is important to take precautions. Masks should be used in public and crowded places. An advisory in this regard will be issued by the Health department at the earliest,” reads the statement of the BMC issued on Monday. The move comes at a time when Kerala has made masks mandatory for elderly and pregnant women. Meanwhile, instructions have been given to BMC's Central Purchase Department to review the availability of gloves, masks, PPE kits, as well as the stock of medicines and other medical equipment required by all civic hospitals. The civic body has also said that the purchasing process can be commenced, if required. All 'ward war rooms', which had played a vital role in patient management during previous waves of Covid-19, should be urgently reviewed to ensure that they are functional with all the necessary manpower and machinery to deal with any situation, said the BMC. “The responsibility of the ward war room will be important in providing an immediate response to citizens during the Covid spike,” read the statement.
