At 10.9%, positivity rate shoots up in city

On Sunday, 25,994 tests were conducted in the state, against the 31,083 conducted on Saturday, 26,285 tests on Friday, and 26,548 tests on Thursday

Mumbai Despite the number of tests dropping on Sunday, Maharashtra continued to report a spike in Covid cases with the state clocking 1,494 fresh infections and one death. The city also reported an upward tick with 961 cases and one death on Sunday.

The number of active cases have also gone up to 6,767 in Maharashtra, of which 4,880 are from Mumbai. (Praful Gangurde)

On Sunday, 25,994 tests were conducted in the state, against the 31,083 conducted on Saturday, 26,285 tests on Friday, and 26,548 tests on Thursday. This means the Test Positivity Rate (TPR) in Maharashtra went up to 5.7% for Sunday from 4.3% the previous day, while in Mumbai it shot up to 10.9% from 8.33%.

Similarly, the number of tests conducted in Mumbai also dropped to 8,778 on Sunday, from 10,257 on Saturday, 9,896 on Friday. The number of active cases have also gone up to 6,767 in Maharashtra, of which 4,880 are from Mumbai.

“Despite the increase in cases, schools are scheduled to reopen from June 15,” Varsha Gaikwad, minister for education, said on Sunday. “A standard operating procedure will be decided for schools and classes will begin as scheduled. A decision on whether to make masks compulsory will be taken soon.”

The highest cases in the state were reported in Mumbai, followed by 108 in Thane, 99 in Navi Mumbai and 63 in Pune.

The state on Friday directed all municipal commissioners and district collectors to increase testing in their jurisdiction, especially in case of clusters of cases, and to increase contact tracing.

A senior civic official from Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said, “The number of tests tends to be on the lower side on weekends. We are ramping up testing now.”

Of the 961 cases reported in Mumbai, 917, or 95% patients were asymptomatic, and 44 needed hospitalisation, while four needed oxygen beds. The bed occupancy in the city is at 0.74% out of 24,579 beds.