Mumbai Covid cases rise even as Maharashtra registers a dip

Cases in Mumbai could have seen an upswing due to increased and targeted testing, said a health department official

Even as the Maharashtra government has allowed general public to use Mumbai local trains from today, state capital has seen a spike in the number of Covid-19 cases in January in comparison to December 2020. The state, so far, has recorded 2,026,399 Covid-19 cases, of which 45,071 are active ones.

A beneficiary gets Covid-19 vaccine, at Nair Hospital, Mumbai, on January 29. (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT Photo)

An analysis of the health department data shows that Mumbai recorded 9,969 cases in December, which rose by nearly 56% to add 15,539 cases in January. During the same period, the state recorded a 13% dip in cases while the number of deaths also saw a 34% drop.

Maharashtra added 108,216 cases in December, while 94,287 were reported in January. Likewise, while the state logged 2,370 deaths in December, there were 1,561 fatalities in January.

A state health department official said, “Cases in Mumbai could have seen an upswing due to increased and targeted testing. Also, there is an increased surveillance of people travelling from UK, UAE, South Africa. These are some factors, but overall, there’s is no sign of an increased viral activity in the city,” said a health department official.

Meanwhile, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said Covid-19 week-on-week growth has shrunk to 0.12%, which was double the previous week.

Mumbai has so far recorded 308,975 Covid cases, of which 5,800 are active. The city’s death toll was 11,352.

On Sunday, Maharashtra reported 2585 fresh Covid-19 cases, taking the tally to 2,026,399. It also reported 40 fatalities, pushing the death toll to 51,082. Mumbai, meanwhile, reported 483 new cases and seven deaths.