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Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation Commissioner Praveen Pardeshi on Sunday took to Instagram to spread awareness about the COVID-19 situation in Mumbai in an interview with social media platform Humans of Bombay.
“I’m the Municipal Commissioner of Mumbai & I want to use this opportunity to talk about the COVID-19 situation in Maharashtra,” read a post from Humans of Bombay on the photo-sharing platform.
Pardeshi said the authorities are taking all necessary measures to curb the spread of the outbreak, which has now been declared an epidemic in the city. BMC has initiated a lockdown, closing public places such as theatres and gym.
Local transport in the city will continue to run so as to facilitate essential travel. However, BMC has advised the general public to avoid all non-essential travel.
“All measures under the Epidemic Act are in effect. A lockdown has been initiated by the closure of schools, colleges, theatres, malls, pools & gyms,” Pardeshi said.
“We advise companies to initiate work-from-home policies wherever possible. If necessary, we will make this mandatory in the days to come,” he further said.
BMC will also take precautionary steps in regard to recent travellers from impacted countries.
“For passengers from high-risk countries, quarantine will be applicable for those showing symptoms. Those without symptoms will mandatorily be home-quarantined for 14 days, with follow-up calls to ensure they aren’t carriers,” he said.
With Maharashtra reporting the largest number of cases in the country, authorities in Mumbai are planning to expand testing facilities to private hospitals.
“Testing capacity is up to 200 tests a day, but we are actively pushing for an increase by seeking permission from hospitals to set-up testing centres. We aim to expand testing facilities to private hospitals,” said Pardeshi.
“Call our helpline 1916 to report someone who may be at-risk based on their travel history & symptoms & we will take measures to conduct tests,” he added.
“Be rest assured that we are doing everything we can to control the situation. I would urge you all to share only verified facts, keep your hygiene levels up & to stay calm. We will get through this together,” he said.
The number of novel coronavirus cases in India rose to 107 on Sunday, with 12 fresh cases in Maharashtra, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Maharashtra has now confirmed 32 positive cases of the novel coronavirus, including nine people admitted in Mumbai’s Kasturba Hospital.
The police department has been asked to invoke Section 144 outside hospitals and government offices, to prevent gatherings,
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