153 cases in Maha; state reaches out to Army for help

MUMBAI: The number of coronavirus cases in Maharashtra touched 153 on Friday, up by 23, even as the state government reached out to the Indian Army, seeking its assistance, if required, to set up hospitals.

With the number of cases increasing every day, the government is preparing for any kind of emergency. The Army’s assistance has been sought to construct makeshift hospitals, streamline supply lines and other related aspects in case of a big spike in numbers.

Deputy CM Ajit Pawar confirmed that the state has written to the Army. Pawaralsoclarified that help was only sought for medicalsupport. SeniorIASofficer Bhushan Gagrani, who is part of a control room dedicated to deal with the outbreak, said the chief secretary [Ajoy Mehta] had spoken to the western command chief of the Army.

NEW DELHI: The Union government ordered for the acquisition of40,000newventilatorsandseparately shot off a letter to all states to enhance efforts to track down the tens of thousands of peoplewhohavecomebackfrom abroad, intensifying on Friday surveillance and disease mitigation measures to tackle the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

Both approaches have been identified by scientists and policy makers as the most crucial in the fight against the pandemic, whichhasthepotentialtospread silently and lead to an explosion of cases that could then overwhelm health care facilities and cause an acute shortage of ventilators. The breathing devices can make a difference of life and death for severely ill patients.

There is a big gap in the number of international passengers who should have been monitored and the actual number, cabinet secretary Rajiv Gauba said in a letter marked to all chief secretaries, warning that it could “seriously jeopardise our efforts to contain the spread of Covid-19”. Gauba’s letter, accessed by HT, did not indicate the total number of passengers who were under surveillance.