Mumbai, June 2: The Maharashtra government, headed by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, has sent show-cause notices to four hospitals in Mumbai for allegedly refusing or delaying treatment to coronavirus-infected patients. The show-cause notices were sent to Bombay hospital, Jaslok hospital, Hinduja hospital and Lilavati hospital. The development came after state Health Minister Rajesh Tope made a surprise visit to these hospitals. Maharashtra Takes Control of 80% of Private Hospital Beds Amid Coronavirus Crisis, Fixes Rates For Various Treatments.

"Yesterday, I visited a few hospitals to see if government rules are being implemented properly or not. I found that the implementation was not up to the mark at some places and show cause notices have been issued," Rajesh Tope told news agency ANI. According to reports, the show-cause notices were issued after the government noticed violation of norms for admission and treatment of COVID-19 patients. Aaditya Thackeray Says Maharashtra Govt Cooperating With Centre to Control COVID-19 Pandemic, Opines 'Not the Right Time for Any Minister to Speak About Politics'.

Maharashtra, the worst-affected state by the novel coronavirus outbreak, has reported over 70,000 coronavirus cases so far, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Of them, 37,543 are active cases. The death toll stands at 2,362, while 30,108 patients have recovered so far. The state has taken over 80 per cent beds in private hospitals and nursing homes across the state as it tackles the highest number of coronavirus cases in India.

The Uddhav Thackeray government has also capped the price for treatment. The charges for a COVID-19 patient in isolation ward cannot be more than Rs 4,000 a day, the maximum charge for an ICU (intensive care unit) is fixed at Rs 7,500 a day, and charges for ventilator are capped at Rs 9,000 a day. Earlier, a Covid-19 patient was normally charged between Rs 40,000 and Rs 50,000 a day for a ventilator in a private hospital.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 02, 2020 06:31 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).