The drop in testing in these two major cities also affected the state’s daily testing levels during this period, which fell nearly 70%.
Public health experts, who had urged officials to continue testing during the festival period, have now said that the two weeks after Diwali will be a “litmus test” for Maharashtra.
The new data was arrived at by comparing the average of daily tests between November 1 and 13 with the average of November 14 to 17.
The daily tests have been steadily declining. In September, the city of Pune had an average of 13,000 daily tests, which was down to almost 8,000 earlier this month. But on November 15, it hit a worrying low of 2,898.
In Mumbai, daily tests dropped from nearly 13,000 in early November to less than 4,000 on November 15.
The state’s director of health services, Archana Patil, said the general drop in tests has raised concern.
Patil said: “The test average in both cities has dropped considerably. It must recover, as the next two weeks are the most crucial. We conducted over 90,000 to 1 lakh of tests in September. In October, we were at around 60,000- 70,000 tests per day. But there has been a 70% reduction in tests during Diwali, which is a big concern. ”
He said he has issued orders asking officials in Pune, Mumbai and Thane, where cases are still high, to immediately increase testing after the festival. On Wednesday, November 18, there were some signs of recovery as state data showed that daily tests had risen from 25,000 to 53,000. “But there is still a long way to go,” said Patil.
Dr Shashank Joshi, a member of the state’s Covid-19 task force, said that testing over the next two weeks will be vital, considering temperatures have been dropping in many parts of Maharashtra.
“If we see an increase in cases in these two weeks, we know that we are seeing what we experienced after the Ganesh festival. We need to make sure our guard is up, “he said.
Dr. Joshi also cautioned against skipping tests. “It’s an alarming trend that has come to our attention: People are starting to treat themselves without getting tested. This is dangerous. If it continues, we will never have a clear picture if the numbers go up.”
He added that testing should not be limited to those who approach labs or those with clear symptoms. “We cannot stop contact tracing. Clearly, the test, trace and trace formula cannot be ignored,” he said.
Mumbai Additional Municipal Commissioner Suresh Kakani said the evidence has picked up since Diwali. “The test numbers improved to 11,493 on Wednesday. We will carry out more tests in the coming days, ”he said.
Former MCCIA chairman Pradeep Bharghava said the Pune administration is giving the wrong signal of a premature victory over covid by systematically reducing testing from around 15,000 in mid-September to 8,000 in mid-October and from 5,700 last week to 2,800 this week, while the average positivity rate this week is high at 12%. While the country continues to test around 10 lakhs a day in this period, even with the latest positivity rate of 3.8% after 8.5% in mid-October, it is surprising that the city has reduced testing, ” says Bharghava. . While the number of deaths has dropped significantly, containment of future challenges is diluted with reduced testing and this must be corrected, he said.
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