Covid-19 crisis: In rural Thane, fresh cases down but fatalities still high

The fourth part of the series looks at the Covid situation in parts of Maharashtra's rural Thane district

Waiting at the Thane Grameen Covid Hospital in Savad in Maharashtra’s rural Thane district, Gopal (he gives only his first name) is relieved to hear that the condition of his cousin Motiram, who is in the intensive care unit (ICU), is improving. But his relief is short-lived. A member of the staff asks him to arrange for an ambulance and organise a CT scan of the lung at a private hospital.

The hospital has a 50-bed ICU facility, but it lacks a CT scan machine. A machine has been requested for, and almost daily the hospital checks with the district collector and the health authorities to find out when it will arrive. Meanwhile, an oxygen concentrator plant is being set up. The plant, which will be functional in a week’s time, will be useful if and when there is a third wave of the pandemic.

Since it became operational in the second half of April, the rural hospital has been working overtime to accommodate the huge influx of Covid patients. However, the overall case flow has come down in recent weeks. Only 30 per cent of the regular beds are being used at the moment.

Rahul Ghule, founder of Magic Dil Health LLP, which manages this particular hospital, points out that though the influx of patients has declined, the number of serious cases remains high due to delayed reference and lack of awareness about the disease. The fatalities, too, remain high.

More than half of the ICU patients at the hospital have been between the age of 25 and 45 years, says a manager who looks after the operations here. “It is a matter of worry that young and middle-aged people are coming with severe Covid. This is in contrast to the first wave last year when most serious cases were senior citizens,” he says.

Conversations with the relatives of patients reveal that there is a lot of anger against both the Centre and the state governments — for having been in denial about the rising number of Covid-19 cases and then the delayed response to the second wave. 

From the hospital at Savad, we head to a base Covid centre in Wafe-Ghoteghar near Shahpur. Located deep in the woods, this centre deals with mild and asymptomatic cases.

Swapnil Shirsat, health officer at the base centre, agrees that the number of patients has gone down in the last fortnight. But we are remaining cautious, he says. On the third wave, Shirsat says that though discussions are on, no policy has been framed as yet to tackle it. The system will remain alert in the months ahead to be better prepared for another onslaught of the virus, he adds.

Economic impact

On the way to the base centre near Shahpur, the streets wear a deserted look, a sign of Maharashtra’s rigorous lock­down this month. A conver­sation with a fruit vendor — a category of business that is allowed to remain open — points to the economic hardships the lockdown has inflicted on people.

Says Manoj Patil, chairman, Pundhe Shahpur Industrial Estate and Cooperative Society, “People are following the rules for health emergencies. All the same, it is taking a toll on people’s finances and the capacity to bear the pain is dwindling.”

The lack of vehicular traffic is all too visible on the national highways. The dhabas are also shut for want of visitors. An attendant at a petrol pump abutting Naka on the Mumbai-Agra road says that very few transport vehicles and two-wheelers come by for fuel or related services.

Sundays are the only exception. That’s when some young couples turn up at the petrol pump as they head out for long rides, says the attendant.