Mumbai: With the number of CoVID-19 patients surging to 876 and the death toll touching 54, the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), on Thursday, issued an order whereby all assistant commissioners have been directed to collect swab samples of high risk contact persons kept in home quarantine and get them tested at private labs.
The charges are fixed at Rs 3,500. If the test kits are provided by the BMC, then the charges will be Rs 1,500. The civic body will bear these charges.
BMC’s move comes after it has increased the containment zones to 381 from 146.These are zones that have been sealed on reporting CoVID-19 positive cases.
“All assistant commissioners are hereby directed to collect the swab samples of high risk contact persons in home quarantine and get them tested through private labs. The charges will be Rs 3,500 if the test kits are not provided by BMC. However, if the test kits are provided by the civic body, then the charges will be Rs 1,500 per person.’’
BMC has tied up with a couple of private labs, including Thycocare, Metropolis, SRL Diagnostics, Infern, and Suburban Diagnostic for these tests. BMC has made available 17 parking lots across the city for these labs to conduct tests.
In another order, the BMC has directed the chief medical superintendent to allow CoVID-19 suspected and positive patients only in Hindu Hruday Samrat Balasaheb Thackerey Trauma Care Municipal Hospital, Rajawadi Hospital and Kurla Bhabha Municipal Hospital, while keeping the rest of the peripheral hospitals free for the treatment of other diseases.
BMC Commissioner Pravin Pardesh in his order said, “If any suspected or positive patient is admitted in the peripheral hospitals other than these three hospitals, then those patients shall be immediately shifted to either of them.’’
