COVID-19: MMR wants to keep its distance from Mumbai

Mumbai seems to have total disregard for rules. Here a father shaves his son's head in public with none of those in the picture wearing masks or other protective gear at Senapati Bapat Marg in Lower Parel on Friday. Pic/Suresh Karkera

While the BMC has issued an order for 100 per cent attendance of its employees, municipal corporations in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) want its residents to stay away from the city. The corporations are working on a plan to restrict the transmission of COVID-19 through residents who regularly go to Mumbai for essential services.

The plan is still in a primary mode but the corporations are likely ask service providers to make accommodation available for its employees near their respective work areas.

MMR, which includes Thane, Thane rural, Navi Mumbai, Kalyan-Dombivali, Ulhasnagar, Bhiwandi-Nizampur, Mira-Bhayandar, Palghar, Vasai-Virar, and Panvel Corporation, collectively has 1,159 patients, way below that in Mumbai which has close to 7,000.

"Nearly one lakh people travel to Mumbai from MMR every day for their jobs under essential services like banks, hospitals, and BMC. So if these areas maintain minimum contact with Mumbai, the transmission of COVID in MMR will be low," said a bureaucrat from the region.

"The number of positive patients in our area has gone up because of some residents who work at a private hospital in Mumbai. We are going to ask private hospitals to arrange for stay facilities for them," said a commissioner of one of these corporations. The civic body has identified 36 employees who work with the hospital.

The ideal situation is to create accommodation facilities for the employees near the work area. The chances of transmission increase due to travel. We are speaking to BMC," said a civic officer from MMR. Alternatively, he said, respective corporations could prepare Care Centres outside their residential areas for these employees who visit Mumbai daily. The administration is also thinking of a 15-day work, 15-day off policy for these employees.

While the MMR region comes under the red zone, some activities can start here if the number of patients go down. A list of migrants in each district - Thane, Palghar and Raigad - is also being prepared so they can go to their states safely.

Number of patients (as on April 30)

Mumbai - 7,061
Thane rural - 48
Thane - 412
Navi Mumbai - 174
Kalyan-Dombivali - 163
Ulhasnagar - 3
Bhiwandi-Nizampur - 17
Mira-Bhayandar - 126
Palghar - 41
Vasai-Virar - 128
Panvel - 47

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news