Two BMC disaster management control room staff test positive

Two staffers of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's 24/7 disaster management control room have tested positive for novel coronavirus, an official said on Monday. The disaster management control room, situated on the third floor of the annexe building beside the imposing civic headquarters and manned by 50-60 employees, is the nerve centre for dissemination of information and coordination between departments and crack teams during emergencies.

"Two employees working in the control room have tested positive for the coronavirus. However, the control room is completely functional and it also has a back up facility based in Parel," a BMC spokesperson said. Sources said one of the staffers is a resident of Dharavi, among the world's densest urban clusters, and a COVID-19 hotspot with around 140 positive cases, including 11 deaths.

The second COVID-19 patient lives in central Mumbai, sources said. Sources said control room staffers were tested earlier for the virus but the procedure may be repeated after these two people tested positive.

"The control room has 55 direct hotlines for direct communication with fire brigade, railways, police and other agencies, besides live feed from 5000 CCTV cameras across the city. It also takes care of the COVID-19 civic helpline," said an official explaining the critical role of the control room. In a statement released late evening, the BMC said its headquarters had been disinfected.

The control room has not been not sealed due to the critical nature of its role, it said, adding that the two staffers, who are asymptomatic, have been shifted to an isolation centre while the rest of the employees have been quarantined at the control room itself. "The control room staffers are decided in two teams and a team is deputed at Parel based control room to provide uninterrupted service to the citizens," the statement said.

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