The dedicated call centre and war room created by Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) for the management of beds, providing ambulances and staying connected with patients at home isolation will be closed now. The civic chief Abhijit Bangar directed the health department to close both call centre and war room and manage Covid related issues from the respective centres.
The civic body had created the call centre and war-room during the first wave of the pandemics. However, during the second wave of Covid, they proved to be very useful in beds management and helping people need immediate help.
The decision of closing them after the number of active cases dropped sharply and even daily new cases has also come down to single-digit and both helpline units are barely used by citizens. “It was useless to keep involve manpower in such units,” said a senior civic official.
During the second wave, the call centre executives had made around 6,52,226 calls and talked over 13,69,675 minutes to take the health status of patients who were in home isolation. Even they were very useful when cases of mucormycosis. The dedicated call center had contacted more than 6,000 patients who recovered from COVID infection. They were in constant touch with them for the next six to eight weeks to check any symptoms of black fungus or mucormycosis.
“The call centre was very useful to tackle a number of issues during waves one and two of the pandemic. The war room had helped citizens in getting ICU beds and Oxygen,” said the official.
“At present, the number of active cases of Covid under NMMC is 140 and daily new cases have come down to single-digit. As people hardly use the system, the civic chief held a meeting and decided to close the war room and call centre and release staffs to their respective departments,” added the official.
The civic body had already closed all the Covid Care centre except the Vashi exhibition. There was 13 Covid Care centre. Many of them were created at community centre and temples which are being vacated for normal use of such places.
