Mumbai reports 1,700 COVID-19 cases and 5 deaths; active tally at 12,727

There have been five Covid deaths in Mumbai in the last 24 hours, the highest number of single-day deaths reported since February 7 this year, when the same number of deaths was reported. In the current instance, four of the five fatalities were above 70 years of age, while all five had comorbidities. The city recorded 1,700 new cases on Sunday, increasing the total count to 11,07,371, with 19,599 fatalities till now.

Dr Avinash Supe, the head of the state Covid death audit committee said that so far, over 25 Covid patients have died across Maharashtra, of which more than 20 deaths occurred in Mumbai in June and most of them were seniors with comorbidities, which was likely to have been one of the main factors for their deaths.

“In none of these cases were there serious symptoms such as drop in oxygen levels or pneumonia, which could be said to be a cause of death. Most were incidental Covid admissions, in the hospital for other reasons. So most of these deaths were incidental Covid mortalities,” he said.

Dr Sanjith Saseedharan, consultant and head, critical care, S L Raheja Hospital, Mahim-A Fortis Associate, said the growth advantage due to the increased transmissibility seen because of circulating variants like Omicron, has added to the increase in the number of cases. Though the symptoms in healthy individuals are mild, these might become a troublesome issue for the elderly and comorbid patients. “As a result, they may require hospitalization. The continuous circulation of this virus may also result in a new variant that may be different or even more aggressive than the existing ones. Hence, being vaccinated, taking boosters and masking is the only prevention, especially for high-risk populations,” he said.