The leader of the opposition in Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis, on Wednesday sent another letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, asking him to increase the number of Covid-19 tests that are being carried out in Mumbai. The former prime minister has written more than 10 such letters in the last five months, asking Thackeray to increase the number of tests to get a true picture of the spread of the infection in the metropolis.
Fadnavis said that while the state increased the number of tests conducted in the past month, from July to August, by 42 percent, in Mumbai, the increase was only 14 percent.
“In July, 6,574 tests were conducted every day in Mumbai, increasing to 7,709 daily tests in August, an increase of just 14 percent. As a result of this, we now see fewer cases being recorded in the city. In Maharashtra, testing increased from 37,528 per day in July to 64,801 per day in August, representing an increase of 42 percent, ” the letter says.
The former chief minister noted that the state contributes nearly 21 percent of new coronavirus cases in the country and about 38 percent of deaths from Covid-19.
The average rate of positive cases in Maharashtra is 18.44% and 13.64% in Mumbai, higher than the national average of 8.57%.
Fadnavis, who recently returned from a tour of western Maharashtra, also asked Thackeray to investigate certain problems related to the region, including the lack of enough hospital beds in a district like Satara and the poor implementation of the Mahatma Phule Jan Arogya. Yojana.
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“In Satara, the Covid-19 infection rate is 22 percent and there are not enough hospital beds for patients. The state had promised free medical treatment under the MPJAY, but hospitals do not charge as a result of which patients and their families have been affected by large bills, ” said Fadnavis.
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“We are increasing our testing capacity in Mumbai by adding a significant number of antigen tests along with RT PCR tests. In Mumbai, we are witnessing a steady plateau of new cases, although there may be a small increase as we add more relaxations to the lockdown. Our numbers are not low because we are testing less, ” said a senior civic official, who did not want to be named.
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