Mumbai to amp up Covid-19 tests as city logs 763 cases in 24 hours. Read here
Premium- Mumbai Municipal Commissioner Iqbal Chahal said that the number of daily tests for Covid-19 should be increased to over 30,000 from the current 8,000 tests
MUMBAI : The Mumbai Municipal Commissioner Iqbal Chahal on Friday asked the civic body officials to amp up their measures to combat the sudden surge of Covid-19 cases in Maharashtra's capital city.
Mumbai on Friday reported 763 cases. Whereas on Thursday the city had reported 704 cases. Experts have warned that the spike in Covid-19 cases on Mumbai is responsible for the rise in Covid cases in Maharashtra.
Chahal said that the number of daily tests for Covid-19 should be increased to over 30,000 from the current 8,000 tests. He attributed this decision to the fact that the city's infection has reached 8%, which is a warning sign.
Chahal held a video conference with civic officials along with Maharashtra government's Covid task force member Dr Sanjay Oka earlier in the day, said a release issued by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
"Experts from IIT Kanpur have predicted that a fourth wave of COVID-19 will hit in July, and their warning must be taken seriously, because their predictions about previous waves had been true. Given the recent increase in cases, the possibility of a fourth wave cannot be ruled out," the civic chief was quoted as saying in the release..
IIT-Bombay, a sparawling campus in Mumbai's Powai locality on Friday also reported 30 cases on coronavirus adding to the city's total active cases.
Considering the possibility of a fourth wave and waterborne diseases as the monsoon season is set to begin, the concerned offices and the departments have been asked to be prepared, the BMC said.
The commissioner also asked civic officials to ensure that medical laboratories do not give Covid-19 reports directly to any patient.
All daily reports of patients should be first sent to the civic body and strict action will be taken against testing facilities if this rule is violated, Chahal said.
Following the sudden surge in cases Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has called a meeting of the Covid-19 task force on Thursday.If the Covid-19 cases in Maharashtra continue to spike, the state government will be forced to make face masks mandatory again, news agency PTI had quoted minister Ajit Pawar as saying.
Health experts are stressing that pandemic norms like wearing of masks and social distancing, which were rolled back to "voluntary mode" on 2 April this year amid a fall in cases, will have to be observed diligently again. Experts have also blamed the increase in mobility of the general population after the relaxation or removal of Covid-19 curbs as resulting in the rise in cases.