Mumbai clocks 1092 COVID cases as testing increases again; city tally at 2,74,572

Seeing a rise in Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases, Mumbai on Saturday saw 1092 new cases and 17 deaths - clocking over 1000 cases for the second day in a row. The city also saw1053 recoveries taking the cured tally to 2,51,509 cases. With the reconciliation of active cases, Mumbai's tally rose to 2,74,572 with 9325 active cases and 10,654 fatalities.

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Mumbai: 1092 new COVID cases

Mumbai's recovery rate has risen to 92% now while its growth rise has slowed to 0.25%. BMC reported that 17,57,666 samples have been tested till date with a 15.56% positivity rate. With the increasing number of cases, BMC reported that 379 out of 1168 ventilator beds are vacant, while 808 out of 1947 ICU beds are vacant.

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Testing dips in Mumbai, BMC wary

As per reports, COVID-19 testing numbers saw a sudden drop of up to 72% during November - especially during Diwali weekend.  The city which was conducting an average of 13,000-14,000 tests earlier in November but that has now dropped to less than 4,000. While 14,000 tests were done on November 5, only 3918 tests were done on November 15. While the state govt's COVID-19 Task Force found the drop alarming, BMC believes a lot of people have not reached hospitals and testing centres on account of Diwali. Currently, Mumbai has again boosted its testing rate to 13,000-14,000 tests.

Moreover, reports state that the BMC  will refocus its Covid containment efforts on slums, anticipating a resurgence of Covid-19 cases due to the return of migrant workers after Diwali. BMC says it is preparing to handle a surge of 40,000 active cases in the city and health infrastructure set up for Covid-19 will not be deactivated despite the current dip in recorded cases. The highest number of active cases in Mumbai so far was over 34,000 in September.

With Maharashtra extending its lockdown, the BMC has increased its containment zones to 362, while over 3929 buildings and chawls have been sealed and are being self-managed by the society. BMC has tweaked its containment zones criteria mandating sealing of buildings that have 10 or more cases in 2 or more floors. The recent BMC report shows Andheri as the most affected place with the doubling rate at 209 days, while Sandhurst Road is the least affected ward with a doubling rate at 659 days. Overall, Mumbai's doubling rate at 280 days is higher than the national average of 73 days.

Mumbai's active COVID cases fall to 8474; tally at 2.72 lakhs as recovery rises to 92%