MUMBAI: The city recorded its highest single-day detection of new Covid-19 cases since the beginning of the pandemic on Wednesday.
The count of 15,014 new infections is well above the previous high of 11,206 recorded during the second wave on April 4, 2021. Mumbai’s first-wave high of 2,848 on October 7, 2020 now appears insignificant. Between January 1 and 5, cases have tripled in the city and risen 190% in the state.
Despite Covid surge, hosp bed occupancy only 20%
The city’s shattering of Covid records on Wednesday drove a 46% jump in daily detections in Maharashtra, which reported 26,538 cases, up from 18,466 on Tuesday. The rise was the highest single-day jump for the state in 223 days or since May 23, when 26,672 cases were reported. Active cases went soaring for the state from 66,306 to 87,505 in 24 hours.
TOI had reported on Wednesday that given Tuesday’s case count of 10,606, Mumbai was likely to cross in 24 hours its highest daily caseload seen in the second wave.
Mumbai’s active cases crossed 61,923, a whopping 445% rise in just seven days. Maharashtra’s cumulative tally of Covid-19 cases has reached 67,57,032, including Mumbai’s 8,31,979.
Daily Covid hospitalisations in the city increased by 46% rise over the previous day and 145% compared to six days ago. Civic numbers showed that 1,218 people had to be hospitalised out of 15,014 detections on Wednesday. Of those hospitalised, 80 needed oxygen support. Till a week ago, daily Covid hospitalisations were below 500.
On the brighter side, fatality numbers were in single digits. While Maharashtra reported 8 fatalities, taking its cumulative toll to 1,41,581, Mumbai added 3 deaths, pushing its total mortality numbers to 16,384.
Suresh Kakani, AMC, said despite the surge, the city was not inundated with requests for beds. “There has been no sharp rise in demand for beds, oxygen or ICU admissions,” he said, adding bed occupancy is nearing 20%. The city also saw more than 700 discharges. “It is important people wear masks, get tested if they develop symptoms and isolate when they test positive,” he said. He said projections are the wave may start to ebb by the third week of January provided people follow protocols.
Health minister Rajesh Tope said a lockdown was not on the cards, but the government could implement augmented restrictions, if needed, to control non-essential activities and prevent crowding. As many as 70 state legislators and over 10 ministers have tested positive and cases are expected to double in three days, though 90% are asymptomatic. In Mumbai, the BMC said 87% of the new cases were asymptomatic.
After a review meet on Wednesday, the state decided to allow a 7-day quarantine period for patients followed by a negative RT-PCR test. It has decided to promote home isolation for patients with mild symptoms and permit rapid antigen tests to be used. The tests will be made available at kiosks and pharmacies and the results logged onto the state’s portal.
