Mumbai’s test positivity rate indicates decreasing viral activity

According to the civic officials, the data indicates that the viral activity in the city has come down.

Mumbai: The city’s test positivity rate (TPR) has shown a steady decline with an average of 15,383 Covid-19 tests conducted every day this month. Data gathered from the civic body showed that Mumbai’s TPR was 0.56% on March 1, when the city conducted 20,981 tests and it has declined to 0.19% on March 19, when 16,533 samples were tested.

On Sunday, the city reported only 26 new cases and zero fatalities. (Parveen Kumar/Hindustan Times)

According to the civic officials, the data indicates that the viral activity in the city has come down. “Very few tests are returning positive now because the overall infection has come down in Mumbai,” said additional municipal commissioner Suresh Kakani, adding that they have not set any targets for daily testing anymore.

“Due to reduced infections, the testing of high-risk contacts and close contacts has also come down,” he said.

On Sunday, the city reported only 26 new cases and zero fatalities. The city’s daily testing numbers, however, show a lot of fluctuation. For instance, on March 16, the number of tests stood at 28,595 and the next day of March 17, the number dropped to 12,802.

“It’s hard to pin down the reason for the fluctuation,” said Kiran Dighavkar, assistant municipal commissioner of the G North ward that covers Dadar, Mahim and Dharavi.

“We are not conducting proactive testing anymore which involved going door to door to get people tested. We are instead focused on making people aware of free testing facilities and our field workers constantly direct people to these facilities when needed. The random testing at malls, railway stations etc have also been stopped at the moment as per the directions from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR),” he said.

According to Dighavkar, mostly people who have flu-like symptoms, ones who have foreign travel planned, and those who have to undergo scheduled surgeries are getting themselves tested.

The decreased viral activity is also evident from the drop in the demand for home self-testing kits. “I am selling barely two or three kits in a week,” said Hakim Kapasi who runs the Health Mart at Marol.

Kapasi who is also a member of the Andheri Chemists Association said that many chemists have stopped stocking the self-test kits completely due to the drop in demand.