This archive report was first published on 16 June 2020.
As the monsoon season approaches, India's healthcare system is bracing for a double threat: the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the seasonal illnesses that come with the rains.
With over 60,000 infections, Mumbai accounts for nearly a fifth of India's coronavirus cases, and the city's hospitals are struggling to cope with the surge in patients.
At Mumbai's Rajawadi Hospital, medical superintendent Vidya Thakur says that COVID-19 has left them 'helpless,' and the monsoon will make things even more difficult.
Every bit of space at the 580-bed state-run hospital is already devoted to dealing with the pandemic, with beds crowding corridors and storage rooms functioning as wards.
Many experienced doctors and nurses are staying on the sidelines due to their vulnerability to the virus, and the hospital is relying on undergraduates and overworked staff to manage the crisis.
Thakur warns that the monsoon will bring a new set of challenges, including the need for more testing, isolation beds, and protective equipment to ensure that patients are diagnosed correctly and not exposed to coronavirus.
"We will need to treat everyone as if they were a COVID-19 patient," she said. "Every precaution will have to be taken."
Sanitation workers, who were delayed in their efforts to fumigate neighbourhoods due to the lockdown, are now facing the risk of contracting the virus as they work to clear out stagnant water and breeding grounds for mosquitoes.
"Many of our men are doing double shifts, working 14 hours straight," said Rajan Naringrekar, the head of the city's insecticide department.
For millions living in slums across India, the monsoon season brings a range of health risks, including flooding, contaminated drinking water, and deadly diseases like malaria and dengue fever.
Mumtaz Kanojia, who lives in a small one-room house with her son and daughter, remembers a bone-chilling bout with malaria 10 years ago and is now fearful of contracting coronavirus.
"The water gets everywhere... and the mosquitoes follow," she said, adding that she and her neighbours have little choice but to use tarpaulins as makeshift coverings despite the risk they could become breeding grounds.
