Public hospitals in Mumbai have already run out of ICU beds. India’s Financial Capital is home to approximately 2.2 crores but only has 200 ICU beds i.e. enough for 0.00091% of its population. This doesn’t bode well for Mumbai, being the capital of the hardest-hit state, Maharashtra. Over 2000 people have tested COVID-19 positive in Mumbai, and the case has almost doubled in the past week.
ICU wards provide treatment for critically ill patients and contain equipment such as ventilators and life-support machines that could potentially preventable deaths from complications linked to COVID-19. Public Citizens on the lower ends of the socio-economic depend heavily on public hospitals for health support, such as those in Asia’s largest slum, the densely-populated Dharavi, which already has 86 confirmed cases.
The repercussions could be massive, especially for potentially avoidable deaths. Take the case of a 49-year old man from Agripada. His family tried at least 5 hospitals, but none of them had any vacant ICU beds. He finally passed away in Kasturba Hospital on Wednesday, waiting to be transferred to a hospital with a free ICU bed.
