Positivity rate rises to 4% with spike in new Covid-19 cases: Mumbai civic body – Hindustan Times

In the last seven days, the city’s average positivity rate has risen to 4% after it had dropped below 3% last month. Positivity rate signifies the percentage of people who have tested positive of the total tested for Covid-19. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is conducting an average of 15,000 tests daily for Covid-19 and has said that at present, the increased numbers are not high enough to merit any speculation of a “second wave” of infections.

Between January 22 and February, Mumbai’s Covid positivity rate had dropped to below 3%. However, since February 9, the positivity rate has been going up. “There are several reasons for the spike. People have remained home for months and dropped their guard due to fatigue, which is leading to the spread of infection,” said additional municipal commissioner Suresh Kakani.

Dr Bhupendra Patil, medical officer (health) (MOH) of M (West) ward, which covers Chembur, said citizens need to adhere to Covid-19 protocol. “If people don’t follow the safety guidelines issued by the state, we might witness a second wave. But it is too early to say. We need more data for analysis, which will take another week,” he said.

City doctors pointed to the resumption of local train services for the general public since February 1 as a possible cause for the spike in numbers. “To some extent, we did expect the cases to go up after the lifting of restrictions. However, we will land up with a second wave if we do not follow Covid-19-appropriate behaviour. Besides handwashing, face masks and social distancing, we should probably consider having staggered office timings, delay starting schools and colleges, and consider vaccinating vulnerable groups as soon as we possibly can,” said Dr Anita Mathew, infectious disease specialist at Fortis Hospital in Mulund.

However, Kakani said, “Though cases have increased recently, we cannot say we have been hit by the second wave.”

Dr Mathew also advised against attending big gatherings. “Unless absolutely necessary, we should stop venturing out for gatherings, family events and shopping. As much as we would love going back to pre-Covid-19 times, we have to understand that we need to control our social behaviour and restrict ourselves for another year or year-and-a-half,” she said.

As a precautionary measure and for early detection, BMC has started using mobile vans to screen and test in Dharavi. “The number of new cases is almost constant in Dharavi, but residents have started going to work with the unlocking. To identify high-risk contacts, mobile vans will go around appealing people to test,” said assistant municipal commissioner Kiran Dighavkar.