28 more die of COVID-19 in Mumbai; case tally nears 15,000

The coronavirus tally in the city shot up to 14,781 on Tuesday with the detection of 426 new cases, while the toll rose to 556 with 28 more deaths, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said.

The BMC said civic-run hospitals, including KEM and Nair, have started administering a new medicine, tocilizumab (an injection), to help improve health condition of severe COVID-19 patients and claimed the result has been encouraging.

It said 613 new suspected coronavirus patients were admitted at various hospitals in the metropolis, the worst hit by COVID-19 in Maharashtra.

Also, 203 more patients recovered from the disease and discharged from hospitals, taking the number of such people to 3,313, it said.

According to a BMC release, 1,006 patients have been discharged so far from civic-run Seven Hills Hospital in suburban Marol, which has a capacity of 898 beds.

The hospital's bed capacity will be increased to 1,300 soon, the civic body said.

The BMC said of the 28 fresh deaths due to COVID-19, 17 patients had co-morbidities.

The use of tocilizumab in COVID-19 patients who are in serious condition has been encouraging, the civic body said.

"It has been used in approximately 40 severe COVID patients so far. Encouraging results were seen in more than 30 patients and 14 such patients have recovered anddischarged," said the release.

The civic body claimed the medicine has improved condition of patients, prevented patients from going on ventilator and also aided in their recovery.

According to the BMC, this drug has been used based on experience of many physicians and hospitals world over.

Meanwhile, the BMC has decided to pay an "encouragement allowance" of Rs 500 to each employee who wraps the bodies of COVID-19 patients in plastic sheets. Usually, two persons are required to wrap one body.

Mumbai COVID-19 figures are as follows: Positive cases 14,781, new cases 426, discharged: 3313, deaths, 556, active cases 10,912.