BMC issues oxygen supply protocols for Mumbai hospitals to prevent emergencies amid COVID outbreak

A day after the Nashik oxygen leak tragedy, the Brihnamumbai Municipal Corporation charted a procedure to limit the access of medicinal oxygen by hospitals in Mumbai. This protocol has been imposed to prevent any emergencies due to the shortage of oxygen supply. A civic order directed all hospitals in the MMR to register their oxygen demand, as per their agreement or at least 24 hours before the need, whichever is the earliest.

Oxygen related norms in Mumbai

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The BMC has issued a release asking all hospitals in the city and various departments of the civic administration to strictly follow the protocol established in reference to the oxygen supply. According to the procedure, chief officials of the mechanical and electric departments will have to prepare a database containing a ward-wise index of all private hospitals and their current oxygen inventory. This will also include the type of cylinder they have. This information will be forwarded to the BMC's ward controls and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Hospitals will have to submit a request to meet their oxygen demands beforehand for the control rooms to process. They also need to notify these control rooms, if the supply is not made available within 16 hours, the release detailed. Further, the steps that need to be undertaken if suppliers fail to deliver oxygen within the stipulated time, have been listed as well. The administration has asked all the designated ward officers and the public health department to work in tandem with the hospitals.

Mumbai COVID-19 update

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On Friday, about 7,199 new cases of coronavirus were reported in Mumbai, pushing the city's active tally to 81,174 patients, along with 8546 recoveries. As yet, the total aggregate caseload stands at 6,16,279 in Mumbai and this toll has logged in 12,655 deaths; the highest across Maharashtra. Recovery in Mumbai is pacing at 81.8% and as many as 5,21,104 people have successfully defeated the infection since the outbreak, last year.