MUMBAI: The city on Friday registered its lowest case tally since February 9, with 443 persons testing positive for Covid-19 infection. The positivity rate of the city dropped to 1.2%, and daily deaths remained steady at 11.
The state reported a slight dip in cases (7,761) as well, and 167 deaths.
With this, the total caseload touched 61.97 lakh and fatalities rose to 1,26,727. The caseload in the city rose to 7.3 lakh and the total death toll touched 15,678.
“The daily cases have been hovering around 500 in Mumbai for a long time now, and there is no indication of any surge or sign of worry,” said BMC executive health officer Dr Mangala Gomare. The thick tail of Covid in Mumbai has been worrying experts, though BMC officials have maintained it is a function of the huge population density and the large floating population.
The WHO said the third Covid wave is apparent in some parts of the world, but chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday countered that the second wave in the state has ebbed but the thick tail of the second wave is still around. “The cases and deaths in the state have come down, but they have stagnated at 8,000-9,000 cases. We are trying to bring down the cases further. We have asked districts to increase tests, especially RT-PCR tests,” said Thackeray.
Health minister Rajesh Tope took a review of the Covid measures in Kolhapur, where cases are surging. The district administration has been asked to ensure more people are treated in institutional quarantine and home quarantine is discouraged.
