Thane, Kalyan cases soar from 10,000 to 15,000 in 2 weeks

MUMBAI: Even as Thane and Kalyan-Dombivli on Friday breached the 15,000 mark in Covid-19 cases, having added the latest 5,000 cases each in less than two weeks, the big question is if the lockdown in these areas would be extended for a third time beyond Sunday.

While discontent is brewing, with traders and political parties against another extended lockdown, sources said rising cases in the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) and Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) limits may force the civic bodies to rethink on relaxing curbs.

Thane reported 342 new cases on Friday, taking its tally to 15,174, whereas Kalyan-Dombivli added 407 new cases to reach 15,005.
With 14 more deaths, the death count in Thane now stands at 537, while nine deaths have taken the Kalyan Dombivli toll to 231. Thane has added its latest 5,000 cases in 13 days and Kalyan-Dombivli in just nine days.
Thane had crossed its first 5,000 mark in 93 days while KDMC had taken 103 days to cross that figure. The two civic bodies had reached 10,000 cases in 114 days each from the time of recording their first cases.
Thane overtook KDMC in active cases and its recovery rate was behind KDMC at 56% as 6,269 patients are still under treatment in hospitals, compared to 6,172 in Kalyan-Dombvili. Till Thursday, KDMC had more patients in hospitals.
TMC deputy municipal commissioner Sandeep Malvi attributed the rise in cases to increased testing, coupled with residents’ failure to follow safety protocols during Unlock 1.0. Thane has so far done more testing (66,000 swabs) than Kalyan (32,000 swabs).
While the lockdown in Thane and KDMC ends on Sunday, the one in Mira-Bhayander ends on Saturday. Civic bodies across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, barring Mumbai which has not had a shutdown, are likely to take a decision on lockdown extension on Saturday.
Traders in Kalyan-Dombivli, Ulhasnagar, Mira-Bhayander, Navi Mumbai and Panvel are rooting for relaxations. Rakesh Mutha, president of Kalyan Traders Association said, “We have suffered huge losses. A further shutdown will wipe us out.” In Mira-Bhayander traders have threatened to forcibly keep businesses open on Sunday if the civic body decides to extend lockdown.
Panvel City Municipal Corporation (PCMC) on Friday relaxed the lockdown and allowed vegetables, fruits and essential shops to be open from 9 am to 5 pm. Panvel had 145 cases on Friday, taking the total to 4,616. One death took the toll to 108.
Navi Mumbai traders in a letter to the municipality said it is unfair to allow APMC market to operate while retail shops are shut. Navi Mumbai’s total is 10,786 with 240 new cases on Friday. Eight deaths have taken the toll to 330.
(Inputs from Umesh Parida, Sanjay Banerjee, Vijay Singh and Shrutika Sukhi)