The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) reported two new COVID-19 cases while the Panvel Municipal Corporation (PMC) recorded one new patient on Wednesday. The number of cases in Navi Mumbai has now gone up to 30 and under the PMC, the figure stands at 21.
The two patients are from Koparkhairane, who are the nephew and niece of a positive case, who came in contact at Noor Masjid in Vashi. The positive patient under the PMC is an autorickshaw driver from Kharghar, who is being treated at Vashi general hospital. “Since the person is being treated in Vashi, we have not been able to find his travel history,” a PMC spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, a trader from the spices market in APMC was found positive, triggering panic among traders. Nilesh Veera, director of the spices market, clarified that the person was a resident of Chunabhatti and had not been coming to the market for the last 20 days. “He had a relative visiting from the U.S., and he has been in home quarantine for 20 days. The spices market is shut during the lockdown.”
The NMMC issued a statement saying that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation was taking care of the positive APMC trader and had also confirmed that the said patient had not come to the market since March 21.
On March 28, after a 52-year-old woman from Ulwe was found positive, her three daughters and one son-in-law underwent test. Of them, two daughters — a doctor and a banker — along with the son-in-law, an Ola driver, tested positive on Tuesday.
Dattatrey Nawale, sub-divisional officer of Panvel (Rural), and his team found that the Ola driver had catered to 60 passengers in the last 25 days. “As per the protocol, we have to find the contacts of last 25 days. The driver had not transported anyone during the lockdown as per data procured from the company. But before the lockdown, he had ferried 60 people, who have been contacted by us and asked to be on home quarantine. The respective corporations where they belong to have also been informed,” Mr. Nawale said.
The doctor was working till March 31 at a hospital in Chembur. “The hospital and the bank have been sealed and sanitised,” he said.