MUMBAI: The civic claim that there is no post-Diwali spike in Covid cases in the city was given a boost when, despite 17,801 Covid-19 tests, the highest conducted in one day in Mumbai so far, only 6% of the tests were positive. .
However, BMC officials admitted that “pockets” of concern were emerging; Dadar market traders, for example, had tested positive in recent days.
The number of daily cases increased marginally (1,093) on Saturday compared to less than 1,000 last week, but BMC officials said this is simply a reflection of the increased number of tests performed daily. The positivity rate in Mumbai has been hovering around 7% for more than a week. “Despite the increase in testing, the percentage of positive patients has not changed. Clearly, there is no increase yet, ”said a senior official.
Of the 17,801 tests performed on Friday, 9,051 were performed using the RT-PCR method, the gold standard for Covid testing. Of these, 878 (10%) were positive. The remaining 8,750 tests were performed using the rapid antigen test which provides results in 30 minutes; 215 (2%) of those analyzed with this method were positive.
Among the 105 stall owners tested at the Dadar flower market, which witnessed a large flood during Diwali, three tested positive despite being asymptomatic. The BMC convinced them to switch to a citizen-run quarantine facility.
A BMC health official said it is difficult to convince these people to be admitted to the quarantine facility. She said: “In other places (markets) in the area as well, among those tested, very few tested positive before and were asymptomatic. We are trying to test a maximum number of people and track these asymptomatic patients at an early stage to control the spread. ”
BMC officials said they will continue to conduct more tests than usual to detect cases as soon as possible. BMC has also begun visiting the homes of migrants who returned to the city in recent days. However, experts said that the relatively high temperatures for November coupled with lower levels of pollution (compared to, say, Delhi) may ensure that Mumbai does not experience a large post-Diwali increase. The period of concern would be December-January, when pollution levels increase.
However, BMC officials admitted that “pockets” of concern were emerging; Dadar market traders, for example, had tested positive in recent days.
The number of daily cases increased marginally (1,093) on Saturday compared to less than 1,000 last week, but BMC officials said this is simply a reflection of the increased number of tests performed daily. The positivity rate in Mumbai has been hovering around 7% for more than a week. “Despite the increase in testing, the percentage of positive patients has not changed. Clearly, there is no increase yet, ”said a senior official.
Of the 17,801 tests performed on Friday, 9,051 were performed using the RT-PCR method, the gold standard for Covid testing. Of these, 878 (10%) were positive. The remaining 8,750 tests were performed using the rapid antigen test which provides results in 30 minutes; 215 (2%) of those analyzed with this method were positive.
Among the 105 stall owners tested at the Dadar flower market, which witnessed a large flood during Diwali, three tested positive despite being asymptomatic. The BMC convinced them to switch to a citizen-run quarantine facility.
A BMC health official said it is difficult to convince these people to be admitted to the quarantine facility. She said: “In other places (markets) in the area as well, among those tested, very few tested positive before and were asymptomatic. We are trying to test a maximum number of people and track these asymptomatic patients at an early stage to control the spread. ”
BMC officials said they will continue to conduct more tests than usual to detect cases as soon as possible. BMC has also begun visiting the homes of migrants who returned to the city in recent days. However, experts said that the relatively high temperatures for November coupled with lower levels of pollution (compared to, say, Delhi) may ensure that Mumbai does not experience a large post-Diwali increase. The period of concern would be December-January, when pollution levels increase.
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