Mumbai sees 750 more Covid-19 cases in 5 days

The number of cases in the city jumped up by 750, (from 1,146 cases on April 11 to 1,896 on April 15), within five days, according to the state health department

The number of cases in the city jumped up by 750, (from 1,146 cases on April 11 to 1,896 on April 15), within five days, according to the state health department data. In the same period, the death toll also rose from 76 deaths on Saturday to 114 deaths on Tuesday, data shows.

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The first case in the state was reported on March 9. The number touched 151 cases and seven deaths by March 31. However, the number increased to 1,741 by April 14, with the toll touching 107.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation claims the rise is a result of more testing. According to the BMC’s data, while the testing has increased substantially in the past 15 days, the daily positive percentage, too, has gone up from 3.6% in the first week of April to 5.8%, as of April 12.

According to the BMC’s data, between April 1 and April 12, the civic body tested 1,000-1,500 samples daily. The numbers of samples tested was 7,712 on April 1, which went up to 24,279 tests by April 12. Across the state, the number of tests has risen to 46,588 on April 14 from 6,331 on April 1.

Dr Sanjay Mukherjee, secretary, Maharashtra Medical Education and Drugs Department, said, “Maharashtra now has 17 government and 15 private labs, making our testing capacity the highest in the country.”

On Wednesday, the number of positive cases in Dharavi went up to 60 from 55 on Tuesday and the death toll went up by one to reach eight. A 55-year-old man who had attended Tablighi Jamaat event in Delhi last month was declared dead by Sion Hospital on Wednesday. Dadar’s Shivaji Park saw two new cases of coronavirus – a 75-year-old woman and 69-year-old man – and there was one new case, a 55-year-old man in Mahim.

A Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) employee was declared dead late Tuesday night. He had tested positive on April 1, and had no international travel history. Five close contacts of the employee were tested and found negative, however, they were quarantined on April 3.

Ten more medical staff of Bhatia Hospital tested positive for the coronavirus on Wednesday, taking the count to 35, a spokesperson for Bhatia Hospital confirmed. The spokesperson said, “All of them are being treated at Bhatia Hospital.”

Further, after four doctors from Bombay Hospital tested positive of coronavirus, the Bombay Hospital has conducted tests on 120 staff members. Gautam Bhansali, consultant physician, Bombay Hospital, said, “We had tested 36 doctors on Tuesday, after one tested positive on Monday. Three have tested positive. We have tested 120 more staff members.”

Municipal commissioner Praveen Pardeshi on Wednesday issued an advisory for protection of senior citizens aged above 60 years. The advisory has asked the medical officers to visit the premises of senior citizens and advice them to avoid going out even to buy essentials and rely on their neighbours, if they stay alone.

Meanwhile, a 29-year-old woman from Worli, who had tested positive, killed herself in the hospital. The G/South Ward, which includes Worli and Prabhadevi, also has the highest number of positive cases in the city.

As per the data released by the BMC, of the 1,753 positive cases, 1,003 positive cases are reported in seven of the 24 administrative wards. The G-South ward has the highest (360) cases, E ward comprising Mumbai Central, Byculla, Mazgaon has 135 cases, D ward (Malabar Hill, Grant Road, Chowpatty) 130 cases, G North ward (Dharavi, Dadar and Mahim) has 97 cases. Further, H-East ward, including Bandra East, has 96 cases, followed by 95 cases in M East ward (Chembur) and 90 cases in K-East ward including Andheri East, Vile Parle east . The BMC said of the total 1,936 positive cases, 857 were detected as a result of contact tracing, containment measures and fever clinics.