MUMBAI: As the BMC reported conducting among the highest numbers of tests in a single day—52,482 -- the city’s Covid graph dipped further. The SARS2 virus’s weekly growth rate dropped by a decimal point to 0.03% (0% would depict no Covid cases), and the daily test positivity dropped to 0.5%.
During the height of the second wave in the April-May period, Covid’s weekly growth rate was 25 times higher at 0.78% and the positivity rate was around 10%. The state reported 5,225 cases and 154 deaths on Thursday, in line with the trend since the last few days. A total of 2.25 lakh tests were conducted in the last 24 hours in the state. The daily Covid caseload in Mumbai has been below 300 for the last 12 days. On Thursday, the city registered 282 cases and five deaths. With this, the total caseload in the state has gone up to 64.11 lakh and deaths have risen to 1,35,567. Mumbai’s caseload rose to 7.4 lakh, with 15,935 deaths.
In BMC-run Nair Hospital, which was designated as a Covid-only hospital during the first wave, there are fewer than 50 patients at present. “There are many days we don’t get a single admission and deaths are rare,” said Nair dean Dr Ramesh Bharmal.
The decision on reopening schools and colleges in the state will be taken in the next few days, said Rajesh Tope, public health minister. Sources said the state task force will submit a report, and CM Uddhav Thackeray will take the final call.
Active cases in the state have further dipped to 57,579, of which 3,030 are in Mumbai.
