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Mumbai is witnessing coronavirus positivity rate of about 15 per cent, against the national average of 3 per cent. Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on Wednesday reviewed the status of coronavirus in Maharashtra and Gujarat and asked the states to stress on surveillance and contact tracing.
However, the official position remains that there is no community transmission in India.
According to a source cited in the Indian Express report, the situation in Mumbai is worrisome. He further revealed that r about 12,76,781 tests have been conducted in India so far, out of which around 50,000 positive cases came in light, which comes to a positivity rate of about 3 per cent. Mumbai, on the other hand, has about 11,000 cases against about 73,000 tests done, which comes to a positivity rate of about 15 per cent.
Mumbai continues to be the hotbed of the virus and is a prime contributor to the soaring number of cases in Maharashtra. Mumbai has crossed 10,000 mark.
A death audit report submitted by a committee set up by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation had earlier found that while the average time between the onset of Covid-19 symptoms in a person and death was 6.4 days in Mumbai, the average time between hospital admission and death was 2.4 days, reported IE .
In some international studies, the latter figure is over 15 days. This meant that people in Mumbai were arriving late to the hospital when their chances of survival were far less.
Harsh Vardhan raised concerns over the situation worsening in both Gujarat and Maharashtra and said: “States need to focus on more effective surveillance, contact tracing, and early diagnosis, to reduce the high fatality rate. Proper interventions, screening, and testing of Severe Acute Respiratory Infections /Influenza-Like Illness cases need adequate attention as this may prevent the spread of infection in other areas.
He added: “The implementation of an effective containment strategy needs to be the top priority of states to reduce the mortality rate. It is the need of the hour to take preventive, pre-emptive, and comprehensive measures in a systematic manner and follow the protocols laid down by the Centre.”.
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