Mumbai records 1,539 fresh Covid-19 cases highest since October 21

On Wednesday, there were 1,539 new cases of Covid-19, the highest daily tally for the city since October 21, 2020, when 1,609 Covid-positive cases were reported in Mumbai

On Wednesday, there were 1,539 new cases of Covid-19, the highest daily tally for the city since October 21, 2020, when 1,609 Covid-positive cases were reported in Mumbai. The total number of Covid-19 cases in the city has gone up to 3,37,124. Mumbai also reported five deaths on Wednesday, taking the Covid death toll to 11,515, with a case fatality rate (CFR) of 3.4%. Mumbai presently has 9,973 active cases and a recovery rate of 93%.

A BMC healthcare worker collects a swab sample from a resident at Dharavi. (Satish Bate/HT Photo)

In the past two weeks, the number of active cases in Mumbai has increased by over 50%. On February 23, Mumbai had 6,119 active cases. The overall growth rate for Covid-19 in the city is 0.32% and the doubling rate is 215 days.

In light of the growing number of Covid-19 cases in the city, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to allow private vaccination centres to operate round the clock. With this move, BMC hopes to achieve its target of vaccinating 100,000 people daily. In a statement issued on Wednesday, BMC said, “When we can achieve the target of vaccinating 100,000 people daily, the 3,000,000 senior citizens who qualify as beneficiaries in this phase of the vaccination drive can be vaccinated within one month.”

As part of the third phase of the nationwide immunisation programme, vaccines are being administered to senior citizens and citizens above the age of 45 years who have comorbidities. The third phase started on March 1. So far, 1,65,034 senior citizens and 19,040 citizens above the age of 45 years have been vaccinated.

At present, there are 71 vaccination centres in Mumbai, which operate between eight hours and 12 hours daily, except on Sundays. BMC has also sent a proposal to the government to approve 29 more hospitals to become vaccination centres.

Those who are eligible for vaccines can register on the Centrally managed Co-WIN app, which is monitoring the vaccination drive, or directly visit their nearest hospital to register for inoculation. The Co-WIN app has repeatedly suffered from technical issues. Municipal commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal on Wednesday instructed the administration to form a team from the public health department to take calls on BMC’s helpline number (1916) and help those who may be facing technical difficulties while registering for vaccination.