The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to increase the scale of Covid-19 testing five times in the Maharashtra capital in the wake of the rising number of cases. The decision was taken at a meeting of the Mumbai civic body on Friday to discuss the preparedness to deal with a possible fourth wave of the pandemic.
BMC commissioner IS Chahal while issuing the order, said the testing would be hiked to 40,000 daily from the current 8,000 as the rate of infection has reached 8 per cent which is a warning sign. Chahal held a video conference with civic officials along with Maharashtra government’s Covid task force member Dr Sanjay Oka earlier in the day, said a release issued by the BMC.
“Experts from IIT Kanpur have predicted that the fourth wave of Covid-19 will hit in July, and their warning must be taken seriously because their predictions about previous waves had been true. Given the recent increase in cases, the possibility of a fourth wave cannot be ruled out,” the civic chief was quoted as saying in the release. Considering the possibility of a fourth wave and waterborne diseases as the monsoon season is set to begin, the offices and the departments concerned have been asked to be prepared, the BMC said.
Chahal also asked BMC officials to ensure that medical laboratories do not give Covid-19 reports directly to any patient. All daily reports of patients should be first sent to the civic body and strict action will be taken against testing facilities if this rule is violated, he said.
Mumbai on Friday saw 763 cases, the third consecutive day when the addition to the tally was above 700, taking the infection caseload here to 10,68,008, while the death toll remained unchanged at 19,567, a civic official said. The addition to the tally was the highest since February 4, when the figure was 846 and was a rise from the 704 reported on Thursday and 739 on Wednesday, he pointed out.
The BMC had on Wednesday asked the city to be on alert after the tremendous Covid spike was noticed in daily new cases. Warning of a rapid rise in symptomatic cases with monsoon round the corner, the BMC asked for testing to be ramped up “on war footing” and push for vaccination across all age groups.
The BMC had directed testing labs to be “proactive and fully staffed”. A renewed and aggressive push must be made for vaccination drive in the 12-18 years age group as well as booster doses.
Jumbo field hospitals too have been asked to be adequately staffed and on alert. “Assistant commissioners in charge of wards must review status of ward war rooms to ensure they are fully equipped with staff, medical teams and ambulances. Private hospitals too must be put on alert.”
(With PTI inputs)
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