The coronavirus outbreak, which brought India’s financial capital Mumbai to a standstill, appears to be entering the slower phase after the doubling rate increased from 30 to 41 days, The New Indian Express reported on Saturday. A report by the city’s civic authority said the prevention plan has been effective due to aggressive testing and isolation strategy.
“The average duration of doubling of patients has crossed forty days now,” the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation said in a report. “Interestingly, on June 24, 2020, this doubling period has reached 41 days while on June 16, it was 30 days. The duration of doubling patient increased from 30 days to 41 days.”
The doubling rate is calculated over three, five or seven days to assess the containment measures. An official told the newspaper that the current data is based on last seven days, which was collected from all 24 administrative wards of the BMC.
The report also said that the average percentage of daily growth in the number of patients declined from 2.30% on June 17 to 1.72% on June 24.
Maharashtra, the worst-hit state, has 1,52,765 coronavirus cases. Of these, Mumbai accounts for 72,287 cases. Last week, Delhi, with 77,240 cases, replaced Mumbai as the worst hit-city in India.
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BMC chief Iqbal Singh Chahal said that preventing the coronavirus spread in densely-populated areas of the city was a major challenge, but added that the administration was emphasising on all-round preventive measures. “Ware also taking necessary actions regarding medical treatment in a consistent manner,” he said.
Meanwhile, the daily deaths due to the coronavirus have been declining for over a fortnight in Maharashtra, according to data analysed by The Indian Express. But Dr Subhash Salunkhe, technical advisor to the state government, warned that the declining trend in toll does not mean that the pandemic has passed its peak in the state. “We have not reached the peak yet, that is evident with rising cases,” he added. “We are using a new cocktail of drugs and providing early intervention.”
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