By PTI
MUMBAI: Mumbai reported 20,181 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, a fresh all-time single-day high and up 5,015 infections, or 33.06 per cent, from a day ago, while four more patients succumbed to the disease, said the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
With these additions, the financial capital’s coronavirus tally jumped to 8,53,809, while the death toll climbed to 16,388, the BMC said in a bulletin.
On Wednesday, Mumbai had logged 15,166 new coronavirus infections, surpassing the previous all time-high of 11,163 registered in April 4, 2021, during the second wave of the pandemic.
As many as 10,860 cases were reported in the metropolis on Tuesday.
Out of the 20,181 new cases, 85 per cent, or 17,154 patients, are asymptomatic and only 1,170 persons have been admitted to hospitals and just 106 are on oxygen support, according to the bulletin.
According to the BMC, as many as 67,487 coronavirus tests were carried out in the city in the last 24 hours as compared to 60,014 tests on Wednesday.
With this, the tally of COVID-19 tests climbed to 1,39,92,095.
The bulletin said 5,998 of 35,594 hospital beds, or 16.8 per cent of the total, are currently occupied by coronavirus patients in the city.
The growth rate COVID-19 cases shot up to 0.99 per cent between December 30, 2021 and January 5, 2022, while the case doubling rate slipped to 70 days, as per the bulletin.
With 2,837 patients discharged from hospitals during the day, Mumbai’s active tally jumped to 79,260 from 61,923 within a span of 24 hours.
The cumulative number of recovered patients in Mumbai rose to 7,55,563, while the city has a coronavirus recovery rate of 88 per cent, the bulletin said.
With a surge in COVID-19 cases, the number of sealed buildings and containment zones also increased sharply.
As per the bulletin, the number of sealed buildings surged to 502, while the count of containment zones in slums and ‘chawls’ (old row tenements) shot up to 32.
Meanwhile, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Thursday said the COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms can stay in home isolation instead of institutional quarantine or hospital.
Amid an exponential rise in cases in Mumbai, the BMC also reduced the minimum period of home isolation to seven days from the earlier 14 days.
According to fresh guidelines issued by the BMC on Thursday night, home isolation will continue for at least seven days from testing positive.
It can end after the patient does not report fever for three days in a row.
“There is no need for re-testing after the home isolation period is over,” said the guidelines, mainly based on the union government’s guidelines about home quarantine issued on January 5, 2022.
High risk contacts of COVID-19 patients will be home quarantined for 7 days.
“Asymptomatic low-risk contacts of infected individuals need not undergo COVID test,” said the guidelines.
Home isolation guidelines will be applicable to COVID-19 patients who have been clinically assessed as “mild or asymptomatic”.
Asymptomatic patients are those whose infection has been confirmed but who are not experiencing any symptoms, and have oxygen saturation at room air of more than 93 per cent.
“Clinically assigned mild cases are patients with upper respiratory tract symptoms with or without fever, without shortness of breath and having oxygen saturation at room air of more than 93 per cent,” the guidelines added.
Patients eligible for home isolation but not having requisite facilities at their residence (for lack of space or other reasons) will be shifted to designated CCC2 (COVID Care center-2).
At home, a caregiver (ideally someone who has completed COVID-19 vaccination) should be available to provide care on 24×7 basis.
Senior citizens and those with co-morbid conditions will only be allowed home isolation after proper evaluation by the treating Medical Officer or Doctor.
“Patients suffering from immuno-compromised status (HIV patients, transplant recipients, those undergoing cancer therapy, etc.) are not recommended for home isolation and shall only be allowed home isolation after proper evaluation by the treating Medical Officer/Doctor,” the guidelines said.
The home isolation period for the patients and close contacts was 14 days earlier.
The city reported more than 20,000 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra on Thursday logged 36,265 new coronavirus cases, 36 per cent more than the previous day with Mumbai alone registering 20,181 infections, a fresh record for the city, while 13 more patients succumbed to the disease, health department officials said.
The new cases included 79 Omicron infections, taking the tally of those infected with the variant to 797.
With these additions, the state’s coronavirus tally rose to 67,93,297, while the death toll increased to 1,41,594.
Health Minister Rajesh Tope said earlier in the day that the state government has not yet considered shutting down local trains in Mumbai and imposing inter-district travel restrictions as the number of hospitalisations was still low.
He ruled out the possibility of a lockdown in the state at this point of time.
Mumbai alone reported 20,181 COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, a new record for the city, and four more deaths.
The slum-dominated and densely populated Dharavi area of Mumbai recorded 107 new coronavirus cases, highest since the pandemic began in March 2020, civic officials said.
The previous record of daily cases in the area was 99, recorded on April 8, 2021, during the second wave of the pandemic.
The state reported 9,727 more cases compared to Wednesday when 26,538 infections had come to light.
A health department bulletin said 1,70,429 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours, taking their cumulative number in the state to 6,99,47,436.
The state’s active cases stand at 1,14,847, it added.
Tope and additional chief secretary (health) Pradeep Vyas met NCP president Sharad Pawar, whose party is part of the ruling combine, and discussed the coronavirus situation in Maharashtra and the restrictions currently in force.
In Mumbai, the hospitalisation rate has not increased significantly and 80 per cent of hospital beds in the city were still unoccupied, Tope told reporters.
A similar rise in infections had been seen during the second wave too last year, but this time around the demand for medical oxygen and the number of deaths have not increased, which was a positive sign, he added.
The new infections are seen to be affecting the upper respiratory tract, including the nose and throat, more, and not so much the lungs, the health minister said.
Meanwhile, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Bharati Pawar on Thursday said she has tested positive for coronavirus.
Bharati Pawar is the Lok Sabha member from Dindori in Nashik district of Maharashtra.
Hemant Godse, a fellow MP from the district, had tested positive for coronavirus on Wednesday.
On the inoculation drive against coronavirus, the health department said 13,64,60,096 doses have been administered in the state so far.
Of this, 3,16,746 doses were administered to children in the age group of 15-17 years.
In a related development, a 16-year-old boy in Maharashtra’s Nashik district was mistakenly administered a dose of Covishield vaccine instead of Covaxin.
As per the Union government’s directive, children in this category are supposed to get only Covaxin.
But the boy did not suffer any adverse effects, a local health official said.
Coronavirus figures of Maharashtra are as follows: Total cases: 67,93,297; new cases 36,265; death toll 1,41,594; active cases: 1,14,847; total tests 6,99,47,436.
All schools in Nashik district will remain shut for offline classes, barring for students of Grades 10 and 12, from January 10 till 31, Maharashtra minister Chhagan Bhujbal said on Thursday.
He warned that if both doses of COVID-19 vaccines are not taken on time by eligible people, ‘No Vaccination, No Ration’ decision will be taken.
Bhujbal, who is also the Nashik district guardian minister, made the announcement after chairing a meeting to review the coronavirus situation held at the collectorate here.
He gave instructions to officials to speed up COVID-19 vaccination in the district and create awareness among people about taking the second dose of the vaccine.
In order to prevent the spread of coronavirus, all colleges in the state will remain closed for physical classes till February 15 and they will switch to online learning.
Likewise, in-person learning for Classes 1 to 8 have been stopped in Mumbai, Pune, Thane, Navi Mumbai and Nagpur till January-end.
“Barring Grades 10 and 12, online classes will continue for schools which will remain closed till January 31 in Nashik district (Grades 1 to 9 and 11). In view of the increasing number of coronavirus patients in the last eight days, marriages should be conducted in a simple manner. Revenue and police departments should take stringent action against organizers of such events if they violate rules,” Bhujbal said.
“Those who have taken the first dose of the vaccine should take the second dose in the given time. If vaccination is not completed in time, ‘No Vaccination, No Ration’ decision will be taken,” he warned.
In view of the rising coronavirus cases, all fairs in the district will be banned, Bhujbal added.
Collector Suraj Mandhare said during the meeting that Nashik has sufficient stock of medicines, medical oxygen and adequate number of hospital beds to treat COVID-19 patients.
There are ample stocks of various drugs required for the treatment of coronavirus infection in the Pune district, an official from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said here on Thursday.
In view of rising cases, FDA officials have asked hospitals in the city to stock up on necessary quantities of medicines in the light of experience of the previous waves of the pandemic, he said.
“There is sufficient stock of eight different drugs which are needed in the treatment of COVID-19 patients in Pune district,” said Shyam Pratapwar, FDA joint commissioner.
As to Remdesivir, a key anti-viral drug which was in short supply during the second wave, over 25,000 vials are currently available in the market in the city, he said.
There are also about 135 vials of Tocilizumab injections in the market, Pratapwar added.
Dr Ashok Nandapurkar, district civil surgeon, told PTI the the district health department has a stock of over one lakh vials of Remedsivir while Tocilizumab procurement was in the process.
“We are ensuring that government hospitals will not face any shortage of drugs,” he added.
Pune district on Thursday recorded 3,648 new coronavirus infections and four deaths including three in the city.
The number of active cases is 10,770, of whom 905 are currently in hospital.
Despite an alarming rise in COVID-19 infections, the number of hospitalized patients is still low in Maharashtra, health minister Rajesh Tope said on Thursday.
The state government has not yet considered shutting down local trains in Mumbai and imposing inter-district travel restrictions, he told reporters here.
While discussions were held about imposing weekend lockdown and night curfew, no decision has been taken in that regard too, he added.
Maharashtra had on Wednesday reported 26,538 fresh coronavirus cases, 44 per cent more than the previous day, and eight fatalities.
“Shutting down local trains is definitely not under consideration. Inter-district restrictions are also not being considered,” Tope said.
Earlier in the day, Tope and additional chief secretary (health) Pradeep Vyas apprised NCP president Sharad Pawar (whose party is part of the ruling combine) of the coronavirus situation in the state.
“He (Pawar) had a discussion with ACS Health and me on current restrictions and what can be done for their implementation. Also, if it (implementation) is not happening, how it can be made stricter,” the minister said.
Pawar also asked them to provide him a list of dos and don’ts recommended by the state and will give his feedback, Tope said.
They also discussed the decision to close schools and colleges in Mumbai, Pune and Thane, he said.
If this vulnerable population of school and college students visits malls, etc, how will the restrictions serve any purpose, Tope added.
The state capital Mumbai on Wednesday recorded 15,166 new coronavirus infections and the positivity rate shot up to 25 per cent, the minister noted.
But the hospitalisation rate has not increased significantly and 80 per cent of hospital beds in the city were still unoccupied, he pointed out.
A similar rise in infections had been seen during the second wave too, but this time around the demand for medical oxygen and the number of deaths have not increased, which was a positive sign, Tope said.
This can be attributed to the fact that Mumbai has achieved nearly 100 per cent vaccination, he added.
The new infections are seen to be affecting the upper respiratory tract including the nose and throat more and not so much the lungs, the health minister said.
