Mumbai: Closure of jumbo centres amid global Covid-19 surge is worrying, say health experts

Are we prepared to handle any future surge in COVID numbers or any new pandemic ask health experts who have expressed concern about the dismantling of jumbo COVID centres across the city and its outskirts at a time when the numbers are rising globally and subvariants of Omicron are being reportedmidday in its article lsquoExperts fear complicated COVID cases in winterrsquo dated October 8 highlighted the emergence of new Omicron subvariants that are causing hospitalisations in European nations and the US and India could see a similar situation once colder weather sets inDr Subhash Hira Dr Wiqar Shaikh and Dr Santosh BansodeExperts also fear that unlike other countries India is not preparing itself for new pandemics Strategic documents are being prepared by infectious and communicable disease experts in Latin America and Africa which have started work on sustainable preparedness to face future pandemics Moreover most countries have not dismantled pandemic centres unlike Mumbai because it is more costefficient to scale down and sustain the facilities workforce and infrastructure rather than dismantle and reassemble the same in a crisis situation which might be disastrous pointed out Dr Subhash Hira professor of global health at University of Washington Seattle and advisor of WHOTDRGenevaAlso Read Mumbai BMC issues advisory for festive season for prevention of Covid19Dismantling of jumbo COVID centres prematureldquoJust two days ago Singaporersquos minister of health announced the doubling of new COVID19 cases to 11580 due to a new subvariant XBB It is a mutant of Omicron and is considered to be a low diseasecausing virus Singapore expects that a lsquosharpandshortrsquo wave caused by XBB will emerge in November and it has made the appropriate preparations Delivery of new bivalent vaccines has started in Singapore and adults above 50 years are eligible for the vaccine at their COVID centresrdquo said Dr HiraAccording to the doctor dismantling functional jumbo centres in Mumbai doesnrsquot make sense because the infrastructure is onerous to reestablish ldquoCOVID and its waves ruthlessly showed that the global health crises threatened to overwhelm already overstretched health systemsrdquo he saidNew variants infectiousDr Wiqar Shaikh professor of medicine Grant Medical College and Sir JJ Group of Hospitals has once again expressed concern regarding the expected surge of COVID19 cases during winter He said that new variants have emerged particularly in China and have spread to other countries He added that the two new variants BF7 and BA517 are highly infectious and have a high transmission rate and that BF7 has spread rapidly in the USA Belgium Germany France Denmark and the UKWhere will citizens goDr Shaikh said that he is alarmed at the closure of jumbo COVID centres He asked where citizens would go for medical help and hospitalisation if there is a surge in COVID19 cases in the city in winter The doctor said that given the medical infrastructure in Mumbai particularly for the poorer population the lack of jumbo centres could spell disaster during the expected winter wave He urged the municipal corporation to increase COVID19 testing facilities and also to conduct doortodoor surveys to detect cases of fever cold and cough The professor of medicine suggested that the municipal corporation keep at least one jumbo centre operational and bring back more whenever neededMumbai is lsquocarefreersquoDr Shaikh expressed concern at the huge drop in testing rates for COVID19 in Mumbai He said that in several laboratories RTPCR kits are just not available He added that people in Mumbai have become carefree and lackadaisical ldquoDespite the widespread occurrence of fever cases with cough and cold in Mumbai citizens are simply disinclined to get a COVID19 test done as they think the virus is gone and the pandemic is overrdquo he said urging people to adhere to appropriate behaviourBackup plans a mustDr Santosh Bansode head of department emergency medicine Wockhardt Hospitals said ldquoNow there are fewer COVID cases People who are getting infected have mild symptoms and they are recovering fast on their own So many of them are not getting tested Because of this the overall numbers are low It is a fact that there is a sudden surge in COVID cases in a few countries outside India viz the USA Europe and Singapore If a similar scenario happens here we need to evaluate and think for ourselves if we are ready to handle such situations Currently all of us are relaxed as far as COVID is concerned and this attitude of ours may cause problems if the numbers start increasing We must observe the rest of the world and be prepared always We must have backup plans We must take all precautions to avoid an increase in numbersrdquo