A recent sero-survey conducted in 6 Mumbai slums revealed that 3 in every 4 people have COVID antibodies, which is suggestive of past infection. The survey sampled about 806 residents from six slums— Machimar Nagar, the transit camp in Ambedkar Nagar, Ganesh Murthy Nagar Part 1, Ganesh Murthy Nagar Part 3, and Geeta Nagar. Conducted over a course of 5 days, from October 5 to October 10, this survey has advocated Mumbai's immunity as the highest among all those reported in India until now. Besides culturing herd immunity, the dynamic spread of the deadly virus is also spreading exponentially in the city, where active cases have shot up by a clear 20% in the last 7 days. At present, Mumbai's active caseload stands at 15,610, pushing the total tally of confirmed cases to 2,82,821.
The City of Mumbai vs COVID-19
Mumbai is witnessing a volatile rise in the number of new victims which have risen by an approximate of 3,000 cases in just one week. Health officials in the city have pegged both- the festive rush and amplified testing since Diwali, as the reasons behind the rising tally of active caseload in the city which has shot up by over 20% since November 23.
These stats have projected a higher presence and prevalence of coronavirus in the state, which is in line with Mumbai's high recovery rate which zooms at 92.4%. The state is testing an average of 17,000 samples everyday, which is yielding close to a thousand fresh cases in a day.
'No second wave in Mumbai', says BMC
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has, therefore, ruled out the possibility of the second wave swell, given the 6-7% positivity rate since Diwali. The civic body is accounting increased testing capacities across all wards, as the reason behind the current case rise. BMC officials have also stated that the city of Mumbai has set a record by conducting a soaring total of 19,018 tests in a single day on November 25.
With increased testing, the BMC is also readying itself for any spike in cases and has arranged for beds for the treatment of infected people at medical facilities across the city. Private hospitals will be engaged by the BMC for the treatment of COVID patients till December 31. Apart from them, Jumbo Centre has also been equipped with oxygen tanks to provide excellent services to patients showcasing mild to moderated symptoms of the coronavirus. The municipal authority has also filled its inventory with emergency medicines to counter any unprecedented outbreak.
