Prescription not needed for tests for contacts of Covid patients: BMC

All direct and high-risk contacts of Covid-19 patients, including asymptomatic ones, will no longer be required to submit a prescription from a doctor to get tested

All direct and high-risk contacts of Covid-19 patients, including asymptomatic ones, will no longer be required to submit a prescription from a doctor to get tested for Covid-19 at a private lab between five and 10 days of coming in contact with the positive person, according to the new order issued by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Sunday.

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The person can just submit a self-declaration to the private laboratory that his close contact has tested positive.

Prior to this, the civic body permitted testing only for contacts who developed symptoms and could produce a doctor’s prescription.

On Sunday, municipal commissioner Iqbal Chahal said, “Any person who thinks he was in close contact with a patient who tested positive and is a high-risk contact, irrespective of the age, can get tested between 5 and 10 days without a prescription.”

“During their recent visit to Mumbai, I asked the Central team for rapid testing kits to form a panel of companies which the states can coordinate with for testings,” the BMC chief said.

The city recorded 61 deaths on Sunday, the highest single-day jump so far, taking the toll to 1,636. Mumbai reported a total of 1,421 new cases on Sunday, taking the case count to 48,549. As per BMC data, 1, 218 people were discharged on Sunday, as the total number of people who have been discharged touched 21,196. The total number of active cases in the city as of Saturday stood at 25,717.

With just 13 cases reported on Sunday, Dharavi saw fewer than 20 cases for the third consecutive day.

The total number of cases in Dharavi is 1, 912. The G-North ward that covers Dharavi, Dadar and Mahim has the highest number of cases in
the city with 2,957 cases reported so far.

As part of the last leg of ‘Mission Begin Again’, BEST buses will start from Monday, along with private offices functioning at 10% capacity.

Initially, the administration had stated that nearly 2,000 buses will be introduced and later approximately 300 buses will be added every week after checking the increase in number of passengers.

It had shut services after the lockdown was announced, although a few buses were ferrying staffers in essential services.

A photo of a huge crowd of people wearing masks while taking a stroll on Marine Drive on June 6 went viral on the social media as many criticised people for not adhering to social distancing norms.

Chahal said, “It is sad to see people in such large numbers stepping out of their homes without following any social distancing norms. We are trying our best to control the spread of virus, but we cannot do it without people’s participation.”