No new restrictions for Mumbai yet, city records 1,709 Covid-19 cases on Saturday

No new restrictions have been planned for Mumbai yet, said the civic administration on Saturday, even as several cities across the state tightened restrictions in light of the surge in Covid-19 cases in Maharashtra, on Friday

No new restrictions have been planned for Mumbai yet, said the civic administration on Saturday, even as several cities across the state tightened restrictions in light of the surge in Covid-19 cases in Maharashtra, on Friday. Suresh Kakani, additional municipal commissioner in charge of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) public health department said on Saturday, “As of now, we have decided to implement the existing guidelines very stringently.”

A BMC healthcare workers collects swab sample of residents at Topiwala Hospital, Goregaon. (Satish Bate/HT Photo)

Mumbai on Saturday reported 1,709 Covid-19 cases. The cases have surged over 1,700 cases in 4.5 months, after October 21 when Mumbai had reported 1,791 Covid-19 cases. Mumbai also reported five deaths on Saturday, taking the death toll to 11,528.

So far, Mumbai has reported a total of 341,999 Covid cases in the city, of which, 11,747 are active Covid-19 cases at present, with a recovery rate of 92%. The case fatality rate (CFR) is presently at 3.3%.

Over the past few days, the number of cases reported in Mumbai per day has increased steadily. On Friday, Mumbai reported 1,647 fresh Covid cases, on Thursday, Mumbai reported 1,509 fresh covid-19 cases. and on Wednesday Mumbai had reported 1,539 fresh covid-19 cases. the doubling rate of Covid-19 cases has further dropped to 186 days, from 194 days on Friday, and 205 days on Thursday. The overall growth rate of Covid-19 cases is 0.37%, up from 0.35% on Friday.

In the month of March alone, Mumbai has reported 15,227 Covid-19 cases. In the same period last month, between February 1 and 13, Mumbai had reported 4,128 cases. In the entire month of February, Mumbai reported a total of 16,614 covid-19 cases.

Aslam Shaikh, guardian minister of Mumbai city said on Saturday, “The task force and the government is working on what all restrictions may be needed for the city. Within a week, we may make an announcement, which will pertain to restrictions on hotels, malls, gymnasiums, crowds at railway stations, taxis, and all public places.”

On February 18, municipal commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal announced a tightening of containment and quarantine rules in the city, including sealing of buildings where more than five Covid-19 cases are found. Restaurants, malls, bars, in the city are allowed to function at 50% capacity, and wedding ceremonies cannot have more than 50 guests at the ceremony at a time. There are 31 containment zones which are usually slums or chawls, and 220 sealed buildings in Mumbai.

Presently, Mumbai has 12,998 hospital beds for Covid-19 patients, 537 beds for mild or asymptomatic Covid-19 patients, 1,536 ICU beds, 944 ventilator beds, and 8,022 beds with oxygen points.