At 10,860, Mumbai logs 2nd highest COVID-19 cases; active tally nears 50,000

Mumbai reported 10,860 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, up 34.37 per cent from a day ago and highest daily count since April 7, 2021, while two more patients succumbed to the infection. If the daily COVID-19 cases cross the 20,000-mark, a lockdown will be imposed in the city as per the Union government's rules, Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar said.

Mumbai: Mumbai reported 10,860 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, up 34.37 per cent from a day ago and highest daily count since April 7, 2021, while two more patients succumbed to the infection, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said.

With these additions, Mumbai's tally of coronavirus cases jumped to 8,18,462, while the death toll increased to 16,381, said the BMC in a bulletin.

Meanwhile, Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar on Tuesday said if the daily COVID-19 cases cross the 20,000-mark, a lockdown will be imposed in the city as per the Union government's rules. Pednekar suggested that people wear triple-layer masks while traveling by public buses and local trains.

She also appealed to them to get vaccinated at the earliest and follow all COVID-19-related standard operating procedures (SOPs).

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray might address the citizens in a couple of days, she added.

On Monday, the city had recorded 8,082 COVID-19 cases and the latest daily tally showed an increase of 2,778, or 34.37 per cent.

The financial capital has reported five-digit COVID-19 cases for the first time since April 7, 2021, when it had reported 10,428 cases and 23 fatalities during the second wave of the pandemic.

So far, the city has clocked five-digit daily COVID-19 cases only three times since the outbreak of the pandemic in March 2020.

Also, this (10,860) is the second highest COVID-19 cases reported in Mumbai since the outbreak of the pandemic. The metropolis had logged the highest-ever 11,163 COVID-19 cases on April 4, 2021.

Out of the 10,860 new cases, 9,665 (89 per cent) patients are asymptomatic and only 834 people have been admitted to hospitals, while just 52 are on oxygen support, according to the bulletin.

It said only 4,491 out of 30,565 hospital beds, or 14.7 per cent of the total, are currently occupied by coronavirus patients in the city.

With a spurt in cases in the city, the infection growth rate increased to 0.63 per cent between December 28, 2021 and January 3, 2022, while the case doubling rate slipped to 110 days, as per the bulletin.

The BMC said 49,661 COVID-19 tests were conducted in Mumbai in the last 24 hours, taking their cumulative number to 1,38,64,594.

Also, 654 patients were discharged from hospitals, pushing the number of recovered cases to 7,52,012 in Mumbai, whose coronavirus recovery rate stood at 93 per cent, the bulletin said.

The wide gap between new and recovered cases pushed Mumbai's tally of patients under treatment to 47,476 from 37,274 a day ago, it said.

As per the bulletin, the number of sealed buildings is also showing an exponential growth as their count has surged to 389. The number of containment zones in slums and 'chawls' (old row tenements) stood lower at 16.

PTI