New BMC chief, new policy for Covid
TACKLING RISE From new testing protocols to high-risk areas in containment zones, IS Chahal changes BMC’S approach
With Covid-19 case count rising, new Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) chief IS Chahal has changed the policy to tackle the outbreak, including new testing protocols that clarify who is allowed to get tested and who isn’t, fewer but stricter containment zones, mapping of high-risk zones within every ward and reshuffling of responsibility given to top bureaucrats from the civic body and the state in the BMC’S war room. Chahal took over from former municipal commissioner Praveen Pardeshi on Friday. Most decisions were taken on Saturday, during Chahal’s first meeting at the BMC headquarters.
‘WATERTIGHT’ CONTAINMENT POCKETS
Chahal has called for ‘watertight containment zones’ and directed all ward officers to map high-risk areas within their containment zones. He has also asked for slum and congested areas to be targeted. With a new containment policy likely to be introduced this week, the number of containment zones in the city will drop, but rules of movement within them will become stricter.
“Currently, each building where a Covid-19 positive case is found is a containment zone. That is how Mumbai reported over 2,500 containment zones. This created panic and restlessness among residents. Now all ward officers have been asked to identify areas that can become containment zones and seal them completely,” a senior civic officer said.
In Dharavi, the BMC on Tuesday identified 15 to 20 high-risk ‘containment pockets’. The area currently has 213 containment zones. Kiran Dighavkar, assistant commissioner of G-north ward, said, “The municipal commissioner has asked all ward officers to have a self-management approach towards containment pockets. I am merging my containment zones into key high-risk areas. These will be completely locked in.” Dighavkar is also identifying local community leaders such as corporators and member of legislative assembly (MLAS) who can be incharge of management, distribution of essential supplies and fever clinics.
High-risk zones within containment zones are being mapped in all wards with a large slum population, such as Kurla and Bandra East, Wadala, Andheri, Malad, Byculla and Worli’s
chawls.
COVID-19 TESTING
Within this week, the BMC is likely to release new testing protocols. A senior civic officer said, “The new civic chief is of the opinion that the testing protocols have changed too many times, in some cases owing to directives from the Centre.” The civic body is likely to strictly follow the ICMR protocol. “The testing protocol will be like a manual, and the municipal commissioner wants it to eliminate confusion about who can be tested and who cannot,” said a senior officer.
The new testing policy is likely to allow testing of high-risk contacts of a positive patient between five and 14 days from the time they were identified, contrary to the earlier decision to allow only selective asymptomatic high-risk contacts to get tested.
Last week, the BMC had briefly introduced and revoked a policy that mandated all those getting tested for Covid-19 to remain in institutional quarantine centres between the time of collection of their swab and outcome of the Covid-19 test result. Healthcare professions feared this would discourage those with symptoms from self-reporting, due to the fear of moving to a quarantine facility, where a negative person may have to share a facility with a positive person before detection.
RESHUFFLING OF RESPONSIBILITY
Tweaking Pardeshi’s order, Chahal has reshuffled the responsibility given to top officers working in the Covid-19 war room. Pardeshi had divided Mumbai into seven Covid-19 zones. Each officer from the war room was tasked with monitoring a zone.
The war room consists of BMC’S four additional commissioners Suresh Kakani, Ashwini Bhide, P Velarasu, and Sanjeev Jaiswal, and other top bureaucrats, including Manisha Mhaiskar, who is the principal secretary of the protocol department, Prajakta Lavangare, secretary of the Marathi department, and N Ramaswami, on special deputation to the BMC. Ashutosh Salil, joint municipal commissioner in the BMC is also part of the task force. While Mhaiskar is incharge of ramping up Covid beds in hospitals and care centres and decongestion of health facilities, Bhide is incharge of BMC’S Covid war room, contact tracing and containment zones. Jaiswal is incharge of formulating a policy to relax lockdown rules in a phased manner and issues of migrant labour, while Lavangare is incharge of Covid Yoddha Volunteers at containment zones, and screening of elderly citizens with co-morbidities. Velarasu has been tasked with pre-monsoon preparedness work, and handling incoming passengers at the Mumbai airport. Kakani is incharge of the health department. Ramaswami is incharge of enhancing medical facilities at Sevenhills hospital. Salil has been tasked with creating jumbo facilities for quarantine, and corporate social responsibility. The capacity of Seven Hills will be increased to 1300 beds.
The BMC is preparing for the peak. Kakani, who is incharge of the health department, said, “We are expecting cases to peak by May-end, and the situation is likely to improve after that. This is the projection for now.”