3rd wave at doorstep: Task force on Mumbai’s Covid-19 case surge

Between August 28 and September 3, 2,279 cases and 15 deaths were reported, owing to which the tally surged from 743,154 to 745,433 and Mumbai’s toll to 15,987

As Mumbai is reporting above 400 cases since the past three days, state health department data has revealed that there has been a 20% spike in Covid-19 infections in the past seven days as compared to the previous week.

A health worker inoculates a beneficiary at a vaccination centre in Prabhadevi on Saturday. (Bhushan Koyande/HT PHOTO)

According to the data, between August 21 and 27, 1,893 Covid-19 cases and 22 deaths were reported in the city that took the tally to 742,763 from 740,870. Between August 28 and September 3, 2,279 cases and 15 deaths were reported in the city, owing to which the tally surged from 743,154 to 745,433 and toll increased to 15,987. However, though the cases surged, the number of deaths has gone down in the city.

The daily positivity rate that was below 1% for the past few weeks has also now crossed the 1%-mark.

However, experts said that this surge cannot be called the start of the third wave yet.

With the rise in the number of cases in the past seven days, number of tests also increased. According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) data, between August 21 and 27, 210,140 tests were conducted in the city, wherein 1,893 results came positive (positivity rate of around 0.90%). Between August 28 to September 3, 256,214 tests were conducted, of which 2,279 results came positive, which means the positivity rate was 0.88%.

Overall, 9.3 million tests have been conducted in the city between February 3, 2020, and September 3, 2021. The overall positivity rate is 7.94%.

Dr Rahul Pandit of Fortis Hospital, Mulund, who is also a member of the state’s Covid-19 task force, said, “We have opened up since August 15, and with this opening up there was some spike expected in the number of cases. But we still have a chance to control this figure to around 400. If we do not adhere to Covid-19 protocols, there will be further increase. Also, this is not the start of the third wave. But I will say that the third wave is at the door, knocking. It is for us to remain cautious now.”

Meanwhile on Saturday, the city reported 413 cases and four deaths. The city’s case tally is 745,846 and toll 15,991. Mumbai’s recovery rate is 96% with 723,386 recoveries. There are 4,031 active cases in the city and the fatality rate is 2.14%.