The number of active coronavirus cases in Mumbai is constantly declining, coming down to 15,466 on Thursday. The count of active cases, an indication of the spread of the pandemic, has reduced by 8,733 cases in the last one month, reveals data released by the state health department on Friday. Civic officials said for the first time in the last five months, the active cases in Mumbai have dropped by 36 per cent. Health experts have attributed this drop to an increase in the recovery of patients suffering from the infection and door-to-door surveys that helped in identifying symptomatic patients at an early stage.
Active cases are the difference between the total number of cases and the patients who have recovered (or discharged from hospitals) as well as those who have died due to the infection.
According to the BMC statistics, there were 24,199 active cases until October 5, which has now dropped down to 15,466 until November 5. This is because of the decline in fresh infections in the last two weeks, as per the officials.
Moreover, Mumbai is also reporting less than 1,000 fresh Covid-19 cases daily, despite the easing of restrictions in a bid to boost commercial activities ahead of Diwali festival, which will be celebrated on November 14.
In September, over 2,000 Covid-19 new cases were reported, which had spiked to around 2,600 by mid-October. However, since the last week of October, Mumbai has been reporting between 1,100 and 6,00 new Covid-19 cases. As a result, the ratio of active cases to the total cases reported also dropped to 5.91 per cent against 11.23 per cent recorded on October 5.
“The rate of fresh infection has been experiencing a fall for several weeks. At the same time, the recoveries recorded were more than fresh infections. Hence, we can see a significant drop in the tally of active cases,” said an official.
Suresh Kakani, additional municipal commissioner (AMC), BMC said it is a good sign for Mumbai as the number of active cases is declining and more number of people are getting cured. Moreover, they have yielded good results from all the efforts taken to curb cases in the city. “Our door-to-door surveys have helped to identify symptomatic patients at an early stage. This led to a faster recovery of patients from their viral infection. We expect a further dip in active Covid-19 cases,” he said.
Public health experts exuded confidence about Covid-19 management in the city.
“We are much better placed now, as compared to the Covid-19 situation between June and September. However, the state authorities should not get complacent and lower their guard. Door-to-door check-ups should be intensified and more tests must be conducted in a bid to prevent a second wave of the contagion in Mumbai,” said
So far, 15.81 lakh tests have been conducted in Mumbai, of which 2.61 lakh have been found to have contracted SARS-CoV-2.
