With the active coronavirus cases and the number of their high-risk contacts skyrocketing in the city, there are 6.81 lakh people under home quarantine and another 1,015 people under institutional quarantine as of April 22. These include asymptomatic people and those displaying mild symptoms apart from the high-risk and low-risk contacts of patients.
At one end, BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has been rapidly increasing the number of beds. On the other, it has been allowing people having separate rooms and toilets to isolate themselves at home and saving beds for critical patients or those who do not have separate rooms.
To prevent the spread of the virus, the Mumbai civic body has, so far, succeeded in locating and tracing 32.14 lakh high-risk contacts and 30.07 lakh low-risk contacts of COVID-19 patients. Since March, last year, a total of 56.34 lakh people have completed their isolation period.
As per the ward-wise data shared by BMC, F South ward (Parel, Sewri, Kalachowki and Hindmata) has the maximum high-risk contacts traced (2.08 lakh) so far. The lowest is in B ward (Bhendi Bazar, Masjid Bunder and Mohammed Ali Road).
Between April 21 and April 22, a total of 44,842 contacts of positive patients were traced in different wards. Of this, 33,467 were high-risk contacts and the remaining 12,375 were low-risk contacts.
"The number of those in home isolation has increased. We have been tracing contacts and isolating them to curb the spread of the virus. This is helping us to a large extent and we will continue practising this strategy," said a senior BMC official.
