Mumbai: Mumbai has recorded 390 cases in the period from April 13-19 compared to the 309 cases reported between April 6 to 12, an increase of 26.21 per cent in one week, according to the state health department.
Over the last two days alone, there has been a rise in daily Covid cases in Maharashtra and Mumbai, with the state recording 162 new covid cases, an almost 18.24 per cent rise compared to the numbers reported on April 19, increasing the total cases to 78,76,203 cases so far.
Similarly, the city witnessed a 15.29 per cent rise in cases, with 98 cases recorded on Wednesday, pushing its tally to 10,58,982 cases till now.
Additional Municipal Commissioner Suresh Kakani said a surge in cases had been anticipated, considering that all Covid curbs had been lifted and there was no stringent observation of protocols.
But citizens have been urged to continue wearing masks and get vaccinated, though cases had dropped over the last two months.
“We have instructed the ward officers to take all the necessary measures to control cases if they see any new trend in their respective wards. We have also instructed to keep an eye on testing, surveillance, contact tracing and quarantining. We are also urging people to take the booster shot as soon as they become eligible,” said Kakani.
State Surveillance Officer Dr Pradeep Awate said that the trend over the past week had not shown any significant rise in Covid-19 cases.
“However, seven days is too small a period... We will need at least another week, as the incubation period of this virus is around 14 days. But there has been no significant uptick in the last seven days,” he observed.
Dr Lancelot Pinto, consultant pulmonologist and epidemiologist, P D Hinduja Hospital and Research Centre, said, “We have to anticipate periodic surges and must not panic. As long as there is no reason to believe that a variant causes more severe disease, we should not be alarmed by cases waxing and waning. Vaccinations (and precautionary doses among the elderly and vulnerable), masking indoors and in poorly ventilated spaces, and isolating when ill need to be emphasised. We must avoid school closures, lockdowns, indiscriminate mandatory masking, and focus on voluntary measures through education and incentives instead.”
In the rest of the country, currently, the surge in cases in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh are a matter of concern, following which the Central government has imposed Covid restrictions.
“Currently, the Covid situation in Mumbai and Maharashtra is stable but there is need for a close watch on cases, considering that cases surged twice last week. Further, the impact of the removal of restrictions will be evident around two weeks after coming into force,” said a senior health expert.
