Mumbai reports 1359 new cases and 77 deaths; patient doubling rate stands at 29 days

With 1359 persons testing positive for the novel coronavirus in Mumbai on Wednesday, the city's COVID-19 tally surged to 61,501. At present, there are 26,921 active COVID-19 cases in the state. The number of recovered soared to 31,338 after 298 patients were discharged in the day. Meanwhile, 77 COVID-19 deaths were reported on Wednesday, propelling Mumbai's casualty toll to 3242. 53 of the aforesaid deceased had co-morbidities. 

About 2,69,608 COVID-19 tests have been conducted in various laboratories across Mumbai till June 16. The number of COVID-19 cases in the city grew at a rate of 2.43% from June 10-16. The novel coronavirus cases in RC, RN, RS wards grew at a rate of over 4%. Moreover, 3,68,791 senior citizens have been surveyed for SPO2 by visiting 21,64,506 houses. While there are 834 active containment zones currently, 5205 buildings have been sealed. As of now, 20,365 high-risk contacts are admitted to Corona Care Centres 1. The patient doubling rate in Mumbai is 29 days. 

Read: Coronavirus Live Updates: India's Recovery Rate At 52.8% As Cases Soar To 3,54,065

Read: COVID-19 Contact Tracing Ramped Up In Mumbai: BMC Tells Bombay HC

BJP demands withdrawal of BMC circular

Earlier in the day, BJP leader Kirit Somaiya wrote to BMC Commissioner Iqbal Chahal demanding the withdrawal of a recent circular which prohibited private laboratories on sharing the COVID-19 positive test report directly with the patient. As per the circular dated June 13, the private laboratory must share the COVID-19 positive test report only with the BMC, which in turn will share it with the patient. However, in the scenario of a patient testing negative for the novel coronavirus, the report can be directly shared with him/her.

The circular adds that private hospitals shall be entitled to get suspect COVID-19 cases tested directly through laboratories. At the same time, the COVID-19 positive test reports shall be shared with the BMC instead of the private hospital. According to the former Lok Sabha MP, this new protocol could result in a delay in the COVID-19 patients receiving treatment. Furthermore, he alleged that the logic for the new guidelines given in the circular is absurd. 

Read: Mumbai: MMRDA Adds 1,000 Beds To COVID-19 Hospital