The city witnessed 5,155 new Covid cases in the last 11 days, compared to 3,267 cases that were recorded from July 20 to 31, indicating a hike of almost 58 per cent. Most of those infected had a mildly affected and recovered at home. This is similar to the experience in January, during the first Omicron surge.
As per BMC data, the test positivity rate of the city increased to 6 per cent as of August 12, from 3 per cent in the last two weeks of July. Meanwhile, health experts have raised concerns as the actual numbers are higher with most cases being unreported.
A senior health official from the civic health department said the change of weather has led to a surge in viral and Covid cases. “There is no need to panic as there will be ups and downs in the number of cases. All patients had mild to moderate symptoms and are getting discharged in three to four days,” she said.
Consultant respiratory physician, Dr Radhika Banka of PD Hinduja Hospital said, “There are a lot of reasons for rising Covid infections. Firstly, people have stopped masking even in crowded areas, which massively increases virus transmission. Secondly, due to a lack of testing and genomic sequencing, we may be missing a new variant that may be cropping up. Thirdly, with the monsoon season, repeated viral infections are common which leads to decreased immunity and people can be more vulnerable to Covid infections.”
