Mumbai News

Daily Covid-19 positivity rate in Mumbai now 1.72%, 8 districts in Maharashtra a concern – Hindustan Times

Amid fear of a third wave in the backdrop of the ongoing Ganesh festival, the city reported 515 new Covid-19 cases and four deaths on Wednesday. The city’s case tally now stands at 736,282, while the toll is 16,037. The daily positivity rate is 1.72%. Earlier, on September 8, the city had similarly reported above 500 cases, but the positivity rate was around 1.09%.

Maharashtra on Wednesday recorded 3,783 new cases along with 56 deaths. The state’s case tally now is 65,07,930. There are currently 49,034 active patients across the state of which Pune tops with 13,258 patients followed by Thane with 7,249 active patients and Ahmednagar with 6,586.

The death toll in state has now reached 1,38,277 with Pune leading with 19,361 deaths followed by Mumbai with 16,037 patients and Thane with 11,334.

In the state, the Covid-19 pandemic continues to be a cause of concern as eight districts in Maharashtra reported a weekly positivity rate more than the state average. Maharashtra has an average weekly positivity rate of 2.63%. Pune and Ahmednagar have more than 5% weekly positivity rate.

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials said they are anticipating a surge in the number of cases owing to the ongoing Ganesh festival and the relaxations announced by the state government in the first week of August.

The city’s recovery rate is 96% with 712,307 recoveries and the mortality rate is 2.17%. There are 5,488 active cases in the city. The city, on Wednesday, conducted 29,886 tests.

Further, BMC officials have planned to increase the daily testing post the festival. The civic body has instructed ward officers to ramp up daily testing for Covid.

The civic body aims to conduct around 60,000 tests daily including rapid antigen tests (RAT) for early identification. On August 20, BMC had conducted the highest number of tests in a single day— 56,566.

The city has zero containment zones, however, there are 37 sealed buildings and 1,528 sealed floors.

Further, districts having high positivity rates include Pune (5.82%), Ahmednagar (5.52%), Sangli (3.88%) Nashik (3.76%), Satara (3.56%), Osmanabad (3.24%), Palghar (3.13%) and Sindhudurg (3.24%).

State surveillance officer Dr Pradeep Awate said, “In Pune, climatic conditions are responsible for a surge in cases. In Ahmednagar, we are witnessing cases coming from rural parts,” said Dr Awate. However, he cautioned that there was a likelihood of a surge due to the ongoing Ganesh festival.

In addition to positivity rates, eight districts have Covid-19 growth rate which is higher than the state average of 0.05%.

These include Ahmednagar (0.23%),Satara (0.12%), Solapur (0.12%), Sangli (0.11%), Ratnagiri (0.08%), Pune (0.07%), Beed (0.06%) and Osmanabad (0.06%).

Dr Wiqar Shaikh, professor of medicine, Grant Medical College and Sir JJ Hospital said the government needs to be strict with the erring citizens. “There is bound to be multiple waves and we need to take strict punitive actions against those who do not follow Covid-appropriate behaviour,” said Dr Shaikh.

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Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/mumbai-news/daily-covid-19-positivity-rate-in-mumbai-now-1-72-8-districts-in-maharashtra-a-concern-101631724300643.html