A private hospital in Bhiwandi township of Maharashtra's Thane district has been stripped of its status as a COVID-19 treatment facility after several lapses were found in its functioning, a civic official said on July 27.

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It was observed that the COVID-19 death rate at the hospital was high. The facility, located in Kamatghar area, also did not have specialist doctors to treat the patients and lacked physicians, Bhiwandi Nizampur Municipal Corporation's medical officer of health Dr Nitin Mokashi said. It did not follow treatment protocols of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), hence it was decided to strip the hospital of its status as a COVID-19 treatment facility, he said.

Patients currently undergoing treatment at the facility will be immediately shifted to the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital in Bhiwandi for further treatment, he said. Officials who had classified the hospital as a COVID-19 facility without due diligence will also face action, he added. On July 25, the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) suspended the licence of a city-based private hospital and cancelled its classification as a COVID-19 facility after it allegedly overcharged patients.

The decision was welcomed by local leaders and social activists. They were of the view that the TMC should take over the facility and some other big hospitals in the city and use them for the treatment of COVID-19 patients. Till July 26, Thane district reported 78,567 COVID-19 cases and 2,153 deaths due to the disease.