The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), with the help of city nephrologists, has managed to keep the number of fatalities due to Covid-19, in kidney patients low. In the beginning of the pandemic, many such patients had struggled to get the life-saving thrice a week dialysis and even died in the process.

“Many kidney patients missed their dialysis and died in the initial period. Missing even one dialysis can be life-threatening for kidney patients. There was chaos as hospitals and dialysis centres were scared to take suspected Covid-19 patients for dialysis. Fear of the infection was high,” said Dr Shrirang Bichu, head of nephrology, Bombay Hospital.