Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], Mar 29 : Cancer patients, who came from several states for treatment at Mumbai hospitals, are now stranded along with their relatives due to the lockdown imposed to contain COVID-19.
The patients said that they are facing a difficult time as they cannot afford to pay rent for a room in Mumbai. They expressed gratitude towards locals who have been arranging food for them in this crisis.
"I am from Jharkhand and I had booked tickets for March 23 to go back to my state, but by then everything closed down," Rajith, a cancer patient said.
He informed that around 200 people like him are stranded in Mumbai.
"There are around 200 people like us who are stranded here. We cannot afford to pay rents nor can we go homes due to lack of transport. So, we are staying on roads, few locals arrange food for us," he said.
While Prime Minister Narendra Modi has implemented a nationwide lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus, thousands of migrant workers in the national capital have started returning on foot to their native places in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, among others. However, buses were being arranged for them by the administration.
The total number of COVID-19 positive cases in Maharashtra reached 186 after 3 more positive cases were reported on Saturday evening.
Maharashtra Government on Saturday decided to include treatment for coronavirus under its health care scheme Mahatma Phule Jan Arogya Yojna from April 1.According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), there are 918 confirmed cases of coronavirus cases in the country and 19 fatalities have been reported.
( With inputs from ANI )