Mumbai, Mar 21 (PTI) With the number of coronavirus positive cases on the rise in the city, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has decided to discharge all 'stable' patients from municipal hospitals in order to make more space available during exigencies, a civic official said on Saturday.

Municipal commissioner Praveen Pardeshi, who is the 'empowered authority' under the Epidemic Diseases Act 1897, late Friday issued a directive to prevent spread of Covid-19 within civic hospitals and preserve medical supplies, equipment, bed capacity and manpower for future contingencies related to pandemic disease, an official said.

"All stable patients admitted in the specialty units and not requiring tertiary care to be discharged with immediate effect," reads the directive. Patients requiring tertiary care, and cannot be discharged,would be retained in specialty facility,' the directive says.

The BMC chief also directed shifting of all stable patients to peripheral hospitals near to their residence,if they require further hospitalisation, but can be managed by the peripheral hospitals.

He also directed suspension of out patient departments (OPDs) dealing with issues like hypertension, asthma, diabetes, thyroid, hematology and geriatric care.

"OPDs of broad specialty should be restricted to 100 patients daily so that adequate distance can be maintained among the patients," reads the directive.

He also directed to run the screening OPDs and the OPDs for cough, fever, and cold, round the clock to minimize the patient flow in the casualty units.

It also directed that Covid-19 suspects, their contacts and the patients with history of international travel should be brought to Kasturba Hospital and other designated hospitals.

The BMC chief also instructed hospitals to defer routine or elective surgeries by two to three weeks.

"No floor beds and sharing of beds shall be allowed and inter-bed distance to be maintained to one meter in all the wards," he said.

The BMC chief also directed all hospitals to have blood donation camps to develop ample reserves of blood for any contingency.

So far 11 people have tested positive to coronavirus in Mumbai and 127 people are admitted for possible infection, besides over 100 others who are admitted at quarantine facilities.

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