The MBMC starts collecting travel data of COVID-19 patients in order to keep the public informed that most cases are of those who have been to the city for work
On Saturday, 19 of the 21 new cases of novel Coronavirus in MBMC were found to have links to Mumbai. Representation pic
With over 70 per cent COVID-19 patients having links to Mumbai, one of the worst hit cities in the country, the Mira-Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) has started collecting data of the residents' travel to the financial hub for work every day.
According to the official data, 72 per cent of the 312 cases of novel Coronavirus in MBMC have either travelled to Mumbai for work or have close contact with them. mid-day had earlier reported that the corporations and councils in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region had asked BMC to provide accommodation to their residents near the workplace or minimise the workforce.
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The BMC had arranged stay for health and water department officials, but that seem to be insufficient. On Saturday, only two of the 21 new cases had no links to Mumbai. The rest included those who had recently travelled to Mumbai or close contact of someone who had been to the city recently.
"Out of 312 cases reported till Saturday, 224 have connection to Mumbai. We have contained the transmission on the local level. But this [cases with links to Mumbai] is another issue and we are working on it," said MBMC Commissioner Chandrakant Dange.
From Saturday, the MBMC have started giving the details of the COVID-19 patients' connection to Mumbai in its everyday release. Earlier, it only shared the patients' age, gender, their locality and the name of the hospital they have been admitted to.
The MBMC imposed a strict lockdown on April 19 and permitted only milk booths and medical stores to open. After May 3, grocery shops, too, were allowed to open but for limited hours. The vegetable markets are still closed.
Despite rigorous restrictions, the number of cases in MBMC is still on the rise. "This is due to the daily commuters to Mumbai. We don't have any objection if the Mira-Bhayndar residents go to Mumbai for essential services, but there has to be some kind of system in place so that the virus does not spread in MBMC," said a senior MBMC official.
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