E-Paper
Mumbai reports 8,063 new Covid cases; State surpasses 11k, Omicron 50
About 89% of the cases reported in Mumbai in the last 24 hours are asymptomatic, according to BMC data. No deaths were reported in the last 24 hours.
Mumbai on Sunday reported 8,063 fresh Covid-19 cases, recording a 27% jump from Saturday when the city logged 6,347 fresh infections, according to BMC data. About 89% of the cases are asymptomatic, the data revealed. No deaths were reported in the last 24 hours. Sunday's number for Mumbai is a sharp rise as on Saturday, the entire state recorded around 9,000 fresh cases. As during the previous wave, Mumbai is emerging as a hotspot along with Delhi. West Bengal has put a cap on flight operations from these two cities.
On the Omicron front, Maharashtra reported 50 new cases including 36 from Pune city, eight from Pimpri Chinchwad, two each from Pune Rural and Sangli, and one each from Thane and Mumbai. The overall Omicron tally of the state reached 510.
The tally of fresh Covid cases in Maharashtra stood at 11,877. According to Maharashtra government data, Mumbai on Sunday reported 7,792 Covid cases.
The steady surge is an indication that the Omicron variant is driving the increase and, according to BMC data, Omicron has proved to be the dominant variant in some bunch of samples sent for genome sequencing. Community transmission of Omicron in Mumbai has not been ruled out either by experts.
'Stage of lockdown is approaching', says Maharashtra minister amid huge spike in Covid-19 cases
The Maharashtra government is estimating a huge jump in the number of infections in the third wave which many experts believe has already set in. This is primarily because Omicron is known to be more contagious than Delta. Dr Pradeep Vyas, additional chief secretary (health) has said Maharashtra may report a total of 2 lakh active Covid cases by the third week of January. "Based on the current trend of rising COVID cases in the state, it is expected that we will have about two lakh active cases by the third week of January 2022. Separate instructions are issued for managing these numbers, in case some of them need hospitalisation," he said.
"Don't be lulled by the narrative that third wave or Omicron wave is mild and not fatal. It's equally fatal for those who are not vaccinated and have comorbidities. So please improve vaccination coverage and save lives," Dr Vyas added.
