MUMBAI: The daily Covid-19 tally and fatalities continued to drop further in the state and the city. Maharashtra added 11,349 cases, its lowest in 35 days since January 1 (9,170). Covid-19 deaths dropped to 68 from 81 on Friday.
There were 643 new cases in Mumbai on Saturday, the lowest in the 44 days since December 23, when 577 cases were registered. The rise of the Omicron variant was noticed fewer than 45 days ago, in late December.
The daily toll dropped to four, the lowest since January 11, when two deaths were registered. Only 92 patients were hospitalised in a 24-hour period as against 234 patients on January 24. “Our cases are down. Hospitalisations have dropped. The daily test positivity rate is also dropping. This is a good sign,” said BMC additional commissioner Suresh Kakani, adding that the number of deaths too had reduced in the last few days. “We have less than 0.1% death rate in Mumbai,” said Kakani.
He said if the Covid graph kept declining like this, then the BMC would consider a further relaxation in rules, such as 50% occupancy.
State officials said that although the deaths in the state were dropping, they were still on the higher side and it will take another week for the deaths to drop appreciably. “Most districts in the state are reporting a decline in cases but there are some that are approaching the peak and it is expected that the cases will come down further by the end of this month,” said the official.
Health minister Rajesh Tope said there might be further relaxations if the situation improves. He said the state would give more relaxations to districts with better vaccine coverage.
