Covid-19: Mumbai records 104% increase in cases during Sept | Mumbai news - Hindustan Times
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Covid-19: Mumbai records 104% increase in cases during Sept

Hindustan Times, Mumbai | ByMehul R Thakkar
Sep 23, 2020 12:04 PM IST

Officials attributed the spike to increased testing and easing of restrictions and festivals in August

There has been a 104% increase in the number of Covid-19 cases in Mumbai in the first 22 days of September compared to the same duration last month, according to the state health department data. Mumbai reported 20,031 cases between August 1 to 22. More than double, or 40,957 cases, were reported from September 1 to 22.

Healthcare workers conduct Covid-19 screening and swab test at Goregaon in Mumbai on Tuesday.(Satyabrata Tripathy/HT Photo)
Healthcare workers conduct Covid-19 screening and swab test at Goregaon in Mumbai on Tuesday.(Satyabrata Tripathy/HT Photo)

The number of deaths decreased marginally. In the first 22 days of August, 990 deaths were reported. They dropped to 862 over the same time this month.

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Also read: Recoveries cross 4.5 million-mark in India, 83,347 fresh cases reported in last 24 hours

Officials attributed the spike to increased testing and easing of restrictions and festivals in August. Between 7,000-9,000 tests were conducted daily in August and between 10,000-15,000 this month.

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation chief Iqbal Singh Chahal on September 6 told HT that they expect around 2,000 cases daily over the next month and aimed to increase daily testing to around 12,000-14,000.

Chahal added they have a capacity to conduct around 15,000 tests daily and planned to optimise testing.

Till now, over one million tests have been conducted in the city with an overall positivity rate of 18.22%.

Dr Siddarth Paliwal, a private health consultant, said it is a good sign that number of deaths has come down despite an increase in the number of cases. “This is because of early testing or detection of possible Covid-19 patients. Also, the availability of drugs to stabilise critical patients has also helped bring down the mortality rate.”

As of Tuesday, Mumbai reported 187,000 Covid-19 cases. As many as 152,000 have recovered. The toll from the pandemic has gone up to 8,555 and the city has around 26,764 active cases.

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