Mumbai's Kasturba hospital is now Covid-free

Kasturba Hospital was the first hospital in the city where suspected Covid patients were isolated and treated

Kasturba Hospital - the first hospital in the city that dealt with Covid-19 cases - is now free of Covid cases, for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, with the last patient discharged at the end of February.

When the pandemic started in Mumbai in January 2020, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation had decided to isolate all passengers arriving from abroad as well as suspected cases in Kasturba Hospital - the only infectious diseases hospital in the city. The hospital administration would then decide on further course of action based on RT-PCR reports.

Dr Chandrakant Pawar, superintendent of the hospital, told mid-day, "When the pandemic had just begun, we had only 20 beds. But as both positive and suspected cases went up, we increased the bed strength from 20 to 250 which includes normal, oxygen-supported and ICU beds. In all three waves of Covid-19, we have treated around 9,000 patients."

The genome sequencing lab at Kasturba Hospital. File pics

Dr Pawar added, "The last patient, aged 35, was admitted to the hospital on February 21 and got discharged on February 28. Since then we have not had any new Covid patients at the hospital." A senior health official from BMC said, "The hospital has been dedicated to treating infectious diseases since its inception. Be it dengue, malaria cases, or even bird flu and the swine flu outbreak in 2009, Kasturba Hospital has always taken the lead to treat patients."

The hospital continues to treat patients suffering from other infectious diseases such as dengue and malaria, and the Covid ward has been kept ready in case more people contract the disease. The hospital also houses the city's first genome sequencing lab. Infectious disease expert Dr Om Shrivastav said, "It's good news that Kasturba Hospital does not have a single Covid patient. The hospital has done a tremendous job during the pandemic. They had also handled the swine flu outbreaks. From what I have seen, they have done much better this time, and I think it's about time that the BMC upgraded the facilities."

Dr Rahul Pandit, director, critical care, Fortis Hospitals, said, "Though there are no active patients at Kasturba Hospital now, we have to stay alert and the facilities for treating infectious diseases must keep on upgrading." BMC Executive Health Officer Dr Mangla Gomare said, "We have worked with our full strength and ability since the beginning of the pandemic and we are ready for the future as well."

"The Covid-19 pandemic has thrown light on numerous administrative and clinical insights in managing highly communicable and complicated respiratory illnesses. The lessons learned in the past two years will help major infectious disease institutes, such as Kasturba Hospital, to effectively handle future waves of major respiratory infections. Kasturba emerged as the ground zero for Maharashtra's fight against Covid-19 and we are willing to share knowledge and form clinical collaborations, as we did during the pandemic, during any probable public health calamity in the future," said Dr Abdul Samad Ansari, director, critical care, Nanavati Max Super Specialty Hospital.

9K
Approx. no. of Covid patients treated at Kasturba hospital