Covid-19: No ‘new strain’ on Mumbai, Maharashtra count yet as slide continues – Times of India

MUMBAI: Amid the high drama of quarantining air passengers arriving from countries struck by a highly contagious mutant Covid-19 virus, the Covid curve in Maharashtra, including Mumbai, continued with its downward trend.
The number of cases recorded in the state on Tuesday (3,106) were marginally higher than on Monday (2,834), but was only a fraction of the cases seen during the peak in September, said health officials. In Mumbai, health officials registered 503 cases, as against 463 cases on Monday. The total tally in Maharashtra since the pandemic began in March is over 19 lakh, while the corresponding number in Mumbai is 2.87 lakh so far.

The daily toll in the state saw a slight rise to 75 on Tuesday (from 55 on Monday), but 17 of these deaths occurred more than a week ago, officials said. The total toll in the state now stands at 48,876. The daily toll in Mumbai was 11, taking the overall toll to 11,019 so far. The total number of active cases in the state is 58,376, and the city has 7,650, lower than on Monday.
BMC health officials said that the test positivity rate throughout December so far has been 6%, while the World Health Organisation’s recommended rate is 5%.
State health officials said the test positivity is falling but isn’t uniform across various districts. “Some districts continue to have high positivity rate of 10% to 12%,” said state epidemiology head Dr Pradeep Awate.
A pandemic is said to end when the positivity rate is less than 5% for three or more consecutive months, he said. At that moment, the pandemic ceases to be and the disease is said to be endemic. Doctors said it will take a long time for the transition, though vaccination may help hasten the process.
CM Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday held an online meeting with the divisional commissioners, district collectors and municipal commissioners to take stock of the Covid situation. He has asked them to increase the number of tests and step up anti-Covid measures in the backdrop of the new Covid variant isolated in the UK.
Public health minister Rajesh Tope, who was part of the meeting, said the health system would increase surveillance. He has also instructed district collectors to ensure the supply of oxygen is maintained and the daily number of RT-PCR tests are increased.
Meanwhile, 99 new cases were reported in Thane, with two deaths.
In Navi Mumbai, 68 new cases were reported along with two deaths. PCMC areas reported 23 fresh cases and two deaths.