Mumbai recorded 1,276 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, taking its tally to 43,492. For the second consecutive day, the city reported 49 fatalities, the third-highest jump in a day, pushing the death toll to 1,417.

The latest victims comprised 27 men and 22 women, and 36 had co-morbidities. In G North ward, Dharavi recorded 19 new cases, pushing its tally to 1,849, while Dadar and Mahim recorded 10 and 25 new cases respectively. On Wednesday, 259 patients were discharged, taking the tally of recoveries to 17,472.

Additional municipal commissioner Suresh Kakani said the civic body is looking into the issue of non-COVID-19 patients not receiving proper medical care and being unable to approach doctors for routine consultations. He said all doctors have been urged to open clinics and start attending to patients. “As far as surgeries are concerned, we have set apart the State-run JJ Hospital as a non-COVID hospital. Patients requiring treatment for such procedures can be directed here,” he said.

While the civic-run Nair hospital has been converted into a dedicated COVID-19 hospital, KEM and Sion hospitals are working on a hybrid model, treating both COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients. Doctors said it has become difficult to carry out routine procedures as healthcare workers at all hospitals are exposed to the novel coronavirus.

With the city receiving rain for the past two days, civic officials have requested citizens to report symptoms such as fever, chills, joint pain, rashes, cough, breathlessness, and sore throat to a doctor or a community health volunteer. A civic official said, “All citizens are requested not to ignore any signs of fever and not take self-medication. Watch out for any symptoms for the next seven to 10 days.” Doctors said the change in weather will lead to a spurt in common viral diseases and they could spread panic as their symptoms are similar to those of COVID-19.