On Wednesday, Maharashtra reported over 23,000 coronavirus cases, of which more than 2,000 were in Mumbai. This has been the highest number of cases recorded both in the state as well as in Mumbai in the past four months.
Taking into consideration the increase in the number of cases, Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar hinted at the possibility of imposition of night curfew across the city to contain the second wave of the pandemic. The state government, she said, was considering shifting the crowded markets to newer sites to curb the quick transmission of the virus in places where a large number of people gather. Addressing the media, she said, "All Mumbaikars need to work together to prevent the imposition of a city-wide lockdown."
As on Wednesday, the COVID-19 tally in Mumbai stood at 3,49,958. From Monday, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has been taking aggressive steps to contain the transmission. The BMC started taking micro-containment measures to control the disease, by sealing off more than 250 buildings that reported over five COVID-19 cases, and 34 active containment zones. Meanwhile, the state is inching closer to the 25 lakh mark as its present count stands at 23,70,507. As many as 53,080 people died in the state due to the disease, and the fatality rate remains at a grim 2.24 per cent.
Both the state and Mumbai began witnessing an increase in cases as various sectors began functional and the local railways operations started. Restaurants, cinemas and hotels continue to adhere to the fifty per cent capacity rule, but the cases have not come down considerably. A major reason for the increase, say
experts, is the overcrowding of people inside local trains. However, it is to be noted that the COVID-19 numbers even in Mumbai's satellite towns have gone up considerably, leading to the state government imposing lockdown in Thane, Nagpur, Pune and a few more districts.
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"I don't think that lockdowns and night curfews are the solutions to the current problems of high COVID-19 cases. The solution lies in intensifying testing capacities, aggressive tracing, and COVID-appropriate behaviour. We must get those who are hospitalised due to COVID-19 to really educate people on the risks associated with it and urge them to follow instructions, and of course vaccination should be speeded up now," says Dr Rahul Pandit, intensivist and a member of the state task force on fighting COVID-19. At present, testing capacity in the state as a whole has gone up by four times, compared to the previous year, but that in itself is not enough, say experts. "There is room for more. The test positivity rate has to come down, so, as of now, if we are conducting one lakh tests everyday, we can up it to 1.5 lakh on a daily basis," said Dr Pandit.
"The BMC has so far been lenient with respect to imposing restrictions but we will not continue doing hat if people do not cooperate. We will not let our efforts of the past year-and-a-half go to waste because some people think that the virus itself has disappeared from public life after the launch of the vaccines," said a BMC official in a telephonic interaction with THE WEEK, on the condition of anonymity.
