As more cases emerge from high-rises in R Central, bldgs set up in-house isolation centres

Since Maharashtra relaxed some of its lockdown rules with 'Mission Begin Again', corona cases have begun rising. Accordingly, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has asked housing societies and representatives of residential groups to set up their own isolation wards on society premises.

Several housing societies have already done so. In R Central ward, there has been a spike in cases in the last three weeks. This area is home to several high-rises, slums and chawls.

Many societies in the R South ward have begun converting their in-house gymnasium and open spaces into isolation facilities and have also procured medical testing kits and pulse oximeters to conduct aggressive testing.

"Recently, we converted our society club into a three-bed medical facility. We have also procured oximeters, an added bonus for our safety" said Dr Rashmi Kekatpure, resident, Country Park CHS Borivli.

This society has 12 buildings and 450 flats.

"The facility is being set up only for the treatment of asymptomatic patients in our society. Often, there are such cases. We also have among us resident doctors, who are in contact with medical officials of the civic body," added Kekatpure.

Members of Aura Biplex, Borivli west, have set up a dedicated facility for its own society members by converting their yoga room into a quarantine centre, in view of the dearth of hospital beds and quarantine facilities in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).

"We are seeing how there aren't enough beds and facilities for patients in the entire MMR region. So, we have converted the yoga room in our society into a quarantine centre," said Nikhil Gandhi, a resident of Aura Biplex. The building has more than 60 flats and 250+ members. Currently, there are two beds in the facility.

"We have started with two beds and will expand if there is a need in the future. These facilities are only for the residents of the society, not for outsiders" Gandhi added.

In Kandivli west, residents of Asmita Towers have made arrangements to accommodate domestic help on their society premises.

"Many residents have daytime housekeeping help. We have arranged shelters for them in our society premises so that they need not go out but be safe here," said Mayank Desai, a resident.

The Congress corporator from R Central, Bhushan Patil, said, residents are concerned about the rising number of cases and they are leaving no stone unturned to ensure that adequate safety measures are taken. "In R Central ward, there are more high-rises than slums and now, most cases are being detected in high-rises," said Patil.

"We now have 1,100+ active cases and the doubling rate in this ward is between four and five days. So things have become worse in the suburbs, as its population is greater than that of the island city," Patil added.