'On June 16, BMC admitted that it had not reported 862 Covid-19 deaths in Mumbai, and added the figure to the official toll. This took the city’s fatality rate from 3.7 to 5.2 per cent — almost double the national average. The Indian Express has now accessed medical records of a few more deceased Covid-19 patients or those suspected to have been infected, which are yet to be reported by BMC officially as Covid-19 deaths, an indication that there could be many more like them.
'If a prisoner in Maharashtra were to be infected with COVID-19, chances are that she would be tested only after her death. And on her death, the prison authorities won’t follow contact tracing exercises, nor conduct tests on people who could have come in close contact with those who tested positive. According to the affidavit prepared by the Maharashtra additional director general of police Sunil Ramanand, in all four deaths registered in three separate prisons, tests were conducted only after the prisoners died.
'Dr Shaukat Ali, a 45-year-old doctor posted in the 108 ambulance service at Malad railway station died of COVID-19 on Sunday. Despite being a frontline warrior, Ali's family ran from pillar to post to get him hospitalised in either a private or government hospital, to no avail. Ali was working with the 108 ambulance service for the last four years. A few days ago, he got his blood tests done after his health deteriorated. The result stated typhoid fever following which he started getting treatment at home in Malwani...'
'In continuation of the ongoing prohibitory orders that have been in place in Mumbai city for close to three decades, the Mumbai Police Commissionerate has issued another order on May 23. This time the order, along with regulations on social media usage, has also called for a complete gag on persons speaking against the state government’s functioning... The police have claimed that the order was issued to deal with the “animosity created in the state due to COVID-19 pandemic”.
'With Covid cases rising to 208 on Monday, BEST union leaders said social distancing not being followed at depots. BEST Workers' Union leader Shashank Rao said, "Till today, if you visit a depot, like members did at Oshivara on Friday, there is no protection for workers, and hardly any social distancing. Workers are almost rubbing shoulders with each other."...'
'At least six doctors from the suburbs and one from south Mumbai have been served showcause notices for prescribing the Covid-19 test to asymptomatic patients or for asking them to get tested without conducting a physical examination...'
'...He was referred to Cooper Hospital, a designated Covid-19 hospital in the city. “After standing in a line for two hours to take a slip to see a doctor, I was informed that the line for the fever clinic is different. By that time, my brother had already started having trouble breathing. So, I rushed him to a private nursing home,” said his brother. The nursing home refused to admit him without a swab test. So, the doctor at the nursing home prescribed a Covid test and he was taken to Hinduja Hospital for a test...'
'A rapid survey done by four independent organisations on the condition of migrant workers in Gujarat and Maharashtra has suggested several measures that could be taken to ease the situation. The rapid survey, done by theCentre for Labour Research (CLRA), Habitat Forum (Inhaf), Mashal and sociology department of Savitribai Phule University, Pune was done between April 23 and May 1,on issues related to stranded labours, migrants and workers in the unorganised sector... Employment and wages were uncertain in both states.
'Sixteen migrant labourers, who were trying to return to their home State Madhya Pradesh on foot, were killed on Friday when a goods train ran over them between Jalna and Aurangabad districts, nearly 260 km from here. One was seriously injured, while three escaped. According to the Aurangabad police authorities and railway officials at the Nanded division of the South Central Railway (SCR), 14 were killed on the spot, while two died of their injuries on way to hospital. The incident occurred under the jurisdiction of the Karmad police station in Aurangabad...'
'A 40-year-old Jharkhand man heading home, mostly on foot from Nagpur, collapsed near Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh on Sunday and died a few hours later in a local hospital on Monday morning. “The deceased Ravi Munda (40) was a labourer from Saraikela in Jharkhand, who was working in some private company in Nagpur. His body has been handed over to his brother and cremation will be done in Bilaspur on Wednesday with the help of police,” said IG Bilaspur zone, Dipanshu Kabra...'
