Mumbai on Monday got additional quarantine facility in the Mirage Hotel near the Airport and in the ITC Hotel.
This will be utilised by travellers coming from abroad, and choosing to pay for it. After 24 hours, guests will be asked to home quarantine themselves, the BMC said on Twitter, sharing pictures of the facilities.
Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray also took to Twitter to thank the hotels for opening their doors to incoming travellers.
"Thank you Mirage Hotel, Mumbai and ITC hotel, Mumbai for opening up your doors to incoming travels that will be compulsorily isolated for 24 hours on arrival in Mumbai, as requested by BMC, since yesterday," he wrote.
This is the second outlet after the Seven Hills Hospital to be turned into a quarantine facility. Apart from this, the number of beds at the isolation ward of Kasturba Hospital has been increased. Isolation wards in four hospitals in the suburbs have also been tapped.
The current protocol requires people arriving from virus affected regions to be put under home quarantine while their samples are tested.
The number of cases in the city has now risen to 39 -- the highest in India. In Mumbai there have been six cases so far. All schools, malls, gyms, swimming pools, theatres, museums and similar public places in the city have already been shut.
On Monday, the Uddhav Thackeray led Maharashtra government took the unprecedented decision to 'tag' all those people who have been sent to 100% "home quarantine".
As per this decision, the left hand of people who have been shunted to 100% home quarantine would be 'stamped' to make them easily identifiable when they mingle with the general public.
The decision comes after several suspected patients in the state ran away from treatment centres in recent times.
(With inputs from agencies)
