Mumbai reported a steep rise in Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, with the city registering 10,860 new infections in the past 24 hours. The new cases on Tuesday are 34.37% higher than Monday’s count of 8,082 cases.
Out of the new cases, 89% persons are asymptomatic. A total of 834 patients were hospitalised on Tuesday, out of whom 52 needed oxygen support.
Two persons died due to the coronavirus on Tuesday, and the recovery rate in the city is currently 92%.
Out of 30,565 Covid-19 beds in Mumbai, 4,491 (14.7%) were occupied on Tuesday, according to data from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.
Mumbai currently has 47,476 active Covid-19 cases and 654 persons have recovered from the disease or have been discharged in the past day.
Maharashtra reported 18,466 new cases and 20 deaths. The state’s caseload stands at 66,308. Meanwhile, the tally of Omicron cases in the state has risen to 653. Of these 259 patients have been discharged, said the health department.
The number of new Covid-19 infections on Tuesday is in line with what state Covid-19 task force member Shashank Joshi predicted earlier in the day. Joshi had said that cases in Mumbai were expected to cross 10,000. “Most are asymptomatic, but need to identify those are risk, isolate, treat and have zero mortality and less severe disease,” he said on Twitter.
Mumbai civic chief Iqbal Singh Chahal said on Monday that “stringent measures” may be implemented in the city if daily Covid-19 cases cross the 20,000 mark, according to NDTV. “Right now we believe that even up to 20,000 cases a day, we will be comfortable in our hospitalizations, and comfortable in our oxygen requirement,” he had said.
Chahal said that the matter of imposing restrictions was discussed in a meeting chaired by Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on December 30. “The general consensus was, instead of positivity being a benchmark for putting restrictions, or putting harsh kind of semi lockdowns, the new yardsticks should be your hospital beds availability, and people’s oxygen requirement,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar told NDTV on Tuesday that the city is ready to face even a “tsunami of coronavirus cases”. She said that authorities noted gaps during the second wave, and that now, more than 30,000 beds have been arranged and oxygen plants are operational.
On Monday, the city civic body announced that schools will remain closed from Tuesday to January 31 for all classes except Classes 10 and 12. Online classes can continue for Classes 1 to 9 and Class 11, it said.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!