Over 3.5k fresh infections in Mumbai, BMC prohibits Holi celebrations

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has started random testing of people from Monday. The civic body has also prohibited playing of Holi at both public and private places, news agency ANI reported.

Fresh Covid-19 infections in Mumbai continued to surge as the city on Tuesday logged 3,512 fresh cases, registering a marginal rise from Monday's 3,260 cases. In the last 24 hours, the city recorded eight fatalities. The number of active sealed buildings has jumped from 316 to 363 in the last 24 hours, while the number of active Covid-19 cases stands at 27,772.

A health worker collecting samples for Covid-19 testing in Mumbai. (AFP)

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has started random testing of people from Monday. The civic body has also prohibited Holi festivities, news agency ANI reported.

On Monday, during BMC's random antigen testing, at least seven hawkers from a vegetable market in the Dadar area were found positive.

6 states reported over 80% of India's daily Covid-19 cases: Govt

While several districts of Maharashtra have imposed lockdown and restrictions to contain the rise in the number of daily infections, the BMC authorities have so far ruled out any lockdown or night curfew in the city in near future. Apart from deploying marshals to check whether people are wearing masks and adhering to social distancing norms, the BMC is strengthening its testing, tracking measures.

On the vaccination front, the Centre on Tuesday announced that from April 1, everyone above the age of 45 years will be considered eligible for inoculation, irrespective of their health conditions, doing away with the previous co-morbidity clause. The BMC authorities earlier announced that in hospitals and healthcare centres falling under its jurisdiction, beneficiaries won't have to wait for their scheduled date to get vaccinated. They can go for vaccination after their registration is done.