COVID-19 in Mumbai: No need to panic, says BMC

Even though the COVID19 figure in the city changed dramatically over the past two weeks the civic chief says everything is under control and there is no need to panic In nearly 20 days the number of cases doubling rate of infection and the Test Positivity Rate have all taken an upward turnBrihanmumbai Municipal Corporation Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal said the number of confirmed cases has increased because the civic body is conducting more tests nowIqbal Singh ChahalBMC chiefAccording to the official data the city had 17917 active patients as of August 19 and the figure jumped by 35 per cent to 23930 cases by September 6 During the same period the growth rate of infections jumped to 103 per cent from 078 per cent As of September 6 the COVID19 cases were doubling every 67 days against the 90 days as of August 199000 tests a day in SeptThe Test Positivity Rate TPR mdash the daily percentage of people testing positive for COVID19 mdash also shot up Between August 1 and August 18 a total of 7071 tests were conducted in the city and the TPR stood at 12 per cent mdash which means 12 reports came back positive per 100 tests conducted Testing between August 19 and September 6 increased by just around 2000 to 9000 and the TPR rose by 4 per cent to 16 per cent which shows more spread of the virusA civic health workers adivises residents in highrisk areas at Kapadiya Estate Kranti Nagar on Monday PicSayyed Sameer AbediAccording to the Indian Council of Medical Research TPR should be less than 10 per centMumbai which was reporting most cases in the state in the initial months since the COVID19 outbreak started seeing a drop in figures after the launch of Chase the Virus campaign in May By midAugust the doubling rate stood at 90 days but as the city started easing more of the lockdown restrictions the cases started shooting upwardsAlso ReadMumbai prepared for daily spike of 2000 COVID19 cases BMC chiefA health worker collects swab samples of a woman PicSayyed Sameer Abedi 11861 tests on Sept 7The corporation was conducting around 4000 tests a day in May and June which increased to 7619 per day including antigen tests in August Since September 1 we are testing around 9000 to 10000 people and on Monday it reached 11861 This is the primary reason for the rise in the number of positive cases in Mumbai Chahal saidHe said there are 4800 vacant beds at dedicated COVID19 hospitals and dedicated COCID19 Health Centres and 6200 more beds can be added in jumbo facilities quickly whenever needed So there was no need to panic because of the sudden increase in positive cases he added The cases started increasing from September 1 and we can analyse the trend in another twothree weeks said ChahalSince March doctors have been trying to tell the government to increase testing Earlier the government did not want to show increased COVID19 cases and threats were made to doctors for overtesting said Dr Deepak Baid president of the Association of Medical Consultant Mumbai He added that now the cases have spread wide and contact tracing has become a challenge It is like shutting the stable door after the horse had bolted078Citys infection growth rate as of Aug 19103Citys infection growth rate as of Sept 616No of tests per 100 that came back ve from Aug 19 to Sep 6Keep scrolling to read more newsCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news