Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has decided to temporarily shut eight Covid Care Centres as there is less occupancy at these centres. These centres include FC College, Agriculture College, Bunter School, Aundh ITI, Polytechnic college, Ambedkar Hostel, Dyaneshwar Hostel and a hostel at Sinhgad College.

Rajendra Muthe, PMC estate department head and deputy commissioner, said, “These eight Covid Care Centres will be closed temporarily due to low occupancy. Patients at these centres will be shifted to nearby Covid Care Centres.”

“PMC has a total 21 Covid care centres in the city with a capacity of 15,430 beds,” he said.

“These centres will be in the possession of PMC only. We will be sanitising it and keeping it ready in case of an emergency,” he said.

Muthe said, “More number of Covid-19 patients is under home quarantine in Pune city compared to hospitals.”

As of August 11 out of the 15,043 active cases, almost 7,754 are in home isolation and 7,289 are in hospital isolation.

Rubal Agarwal, additional municipal commissioner said, “There is enough bed capacity at the Covid Care Centres for asymptomatic patients. But at the same time, we are promoting home isolation as it would help the administration to concentrate mainly on critical patients rather than asymptomatic patients.”

The administration claims that as these centres will be shut temporarily, it will reduce the burden on manpower.

A patient who tested positive for the virus said, “I did my Covid test at a PMC swab centre. They asked me to stay at the PMC-run quarantine facility until the report was out. The experience at the quarantine facility was not satisfactory.”

Another patient from Baner centre said, “Toilets at this centre are unclean. Also, it is tough to spend days here as there is only my mobile for entertainment. So I preferred home isolation.”

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