Mumbai: For the second day in a row, more than 100 new Covid cases were recorded on Wednesday, with 112 new infections and zero deaths being reported in the last 24 hours, taking the total case count to 10,59,545, with 19,562 fatalities till now.
However, the test positivity rate increased to 1.18 per cent from 1.14 per cent the day before.
In the rest of Maharashtra too, there was a slight surge in the last 24 hours, with 186 new cases being reported on Wednesday, pushing the state tally to 78,77,264 till now. Health officials have said they had anticipated a surge in cases in the city, as all Covid restrictions have been lifted.
“There is no need to panic as the weekly growth rate is below 1 per cent and daily hospitalisation is not more than two patients at the centres or hospitals in Mumbai. We can only urge citizens to use masks and follow covid-19 appropriate behaviour,” an official said.
Meanwhile, the state’s Covid-19 taskforce has expressed concern over the rise in cases in states including Delhi and Karnataka and recommended a return to masking.
“There should be a reimplementation of wearing masks in indoor spaces like cinema theatres, auditoriums and malls. Moreover, Covid testing should be increased across Maharashtra,” he said.
Dr Shashank Joshi, a member of Maharashtra’s Covid-19 taskforce, said that the surge in cases was likely due to the Omicron variant, which is still prevalent in Mumbai. “We shouldn’t forget that the virus is still there and we have to learn to live with it by following all the necessary precautions and masking behaviour. The current spread is caused mainly by community transmission because of people not following the rules,” said Dr Joshi
