Mumbai: For the second consecutive day, Mumbai witnessed the lowest number of cases on Tuesday with 801 new infections pushing its tally to 2,52,888. The previous lowest was 587 which was reported on August 25. Meanwhile, the Covid-19 deaths too showed a decline with 23 fatalities reported in the last 24 hours, the lowest in the last 10 days, increasing the total death toll to 10,122.
Maharashtra too witnessed a drop in daily cases on Tuesday, with 5,363 new infections and 115 fatalities, pushing the total count to 16,54,028, with 43,463 deaths so far. The recovery rate has now touched 89 per cent, with 7,836 being discharged in the last 24 hours, increasing the tally to 14,78,496.
“Reduced cases may be due to the dip in the testing numbers usually seen during the weekend and also due to the shortage of manpower to upload the data. Many of the reports that are yet to be uploaded will reflect over the next few days,” said an official.
The number of tests conducted for Covid-19 in October has dropped by 12%. Between October 5 and 11, the daily average of samples tested was 76,054. This number decreased to 66,637 between October 19-25. In the last 24 hours, 36,267 samples have been tested.
Suresh Kakani, BMC’s additional municipal commissioner, said that the drop in numbers was purely due to low testing. “Weekend, combined with festivities, was the reason for lesser tests being carried out. In fact, with Diwali approaching and many more people stepping out on the streets and markets, we are expecting a surge in cases,” he said, adding that the whole of November was crucial for Mumbai.
“It’s, therefore, imperative for people to wear masks and maintain distancing,” he advised.
