Ringing in a muted New Year, Mumbai reports 592 new COVID cases; city's tally at 2,94,659

Witnessing no 'COVID surge' over New Year's eve, Mumbai on Saturday, reported 592 new cases and 7 new deaths. The city's recoveries rose to 2,74,767 with 695 new patients cured in past 24 hours. Mumbai's tally rose to 2,94,659 with 7892 active cases and 11,132 fatalities. 

Coronavirus LIVE Updates: India's tally at 1,03,05,788; SEC clears COVAXIN & COVISHIELD

Mumbai: 592 new cases

Mumbai's recovery rate has risen to 93% now while its growth rise has slowed to 0.21%. BMC reported that 23,82,420 samples have been tested till date with a 12.34% positivity rate. With the increasing number of cases, BMC reported that 555 out of 1137 ventilator beds are vacant, while 1044 out of 1886 ICU beds are vacant, till date.

On New Year's eve, Mumbai hotspots wear deserted look

Mumbai's deserted New Year eve celebs

The Gateway of India, a popular tourist hotspot in south Mumbai, wore a largely deserted look on the New Years eve on Thursday as people kept away from the venue in view of the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions placed on public gatherings by the authorities. The iconic sea-facing British-era monument, which used to be chock-a-block with New Year revellers in normal times, had thin presence of citizens and heavy deployment of police on the last day of 2020 as Mumbai prepared to ring in 2021.

Mumbai is under curfew from 11 pm to 6 am till January 5. Besides the Gateway of India, other popular destinations in Mumbai for New Year revellers were also largely empty. "There is no crowd this year...in the past people in thousands use to flock the Gateway of India on the New Year eve," said a police official on duty at the spot. "People used to start gathering at the venue around sunset every year and we had to disperse them after 12 am. But today very few people came. I havent seen such a scenario," he said. Same situation was witnessed at Marine Drive, Girgaum Chowpatty in South Mumbai and other locations in the city, which are known for gatherings on the New Year's eve.

AAP vs BJP: Manish Sisodia reminds Uttarakhand govt of Jan 4 debate over schemes

Mumbai COVID crisis

With Maharashtra extending its lockdown, the BMC has limited its containment zones to 283, while over 2462 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 Mulund as the most affected place with the doubling rate at 236 days, while Kalbadevi is the least affected ward with a doubling rate at 860 days. Overall, Mumbai's doubling rate at 361 days is higher than the national average of 260 days.

Mumbai sees 714 new COVID cases; city airport rolls out 13-min test for intl arrivals