The death toll in Mumbai touched 101 with nine more COVID-19 fatalities being recorded on Monday. The city also witnessed the steepest single-day spike with 242 new cases being reported, taking the tally to 1,540.
Of the nine victims, seven victims had co-morbidities such as diabetes, hypertension and heart disease, while two — a 47-year-old man and a 51-year-old woman — had no underlying conditions. The city’s case fatality rate stands at 6.5%.
Since April, there has been a rapid rise in the number of cases, but civic officials have attributed this to aggressive contact tracing, testing and screening measures. About 10,000 people have been screened in Dharavi. “Of these, nearly 80 people with symptoms like cough and fever have been referred for testing,” said Kiran Dighavkar, assistant commissioner of G North ward. Similar measures have been taken in wards where cases have risen sharply.
SevenHills Hospital in Marol has become the largest isolation facility in Mumbai with 383 patients. “We have activated 450 beds,” said Dr. Mohan Joshi, dean of Sion hospital and in-charge of SevenHills Hospital.
On Monday, a team from the Central government visited SevenHills and appreciated the efforts of the staff. The team held a video call with the hospital’s intensivist and discussed how to handle critical patients.
The hospital has started seven dialysis units for COVID-19 patients with chronic kidney disease. “A dialysis facility helps us in offering critical treatment to patients whose condition might worsen due to underlying ailment,” said Dr. Joshi.
NMMC reports 11 cases
The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) on Monday reported 11 positive cases, including six members of a family (three men and three women) of a 66-year-old man from Belapur village who died of COVID-19.
A college student in Nerul has tested positive a month after returning from Rajasthan on March 10. Meanwhile, the son and daughter-in-law of a 75-year-old Vashi resident, who tested positive on Friday, have also contracted the virus.
An NMMC official said, “The son and daughter-in-law had no symptoms and were tested because their close contact had COVID-19. We believe either of them is the carrier and the senior citizen contracted the disease due to his age and low immunity.” A man in his 30s from Koparkhairane tested positive after the driver of his private company in Mumbai contracted COVID-19.
In Panvel Municipal Corporation (PMC), an Ola driver who ferried passengers from Mumbai international airport has tested positive. The tally in NMMC is 50. Of the 376 people tested till date, the samples of 249 are negative and the reports of 77 are awaited. Twelve people have recovered till date and three have died.
In PMC, 29 cases have been reported, including six from Panvel Rural. A total of 342 people have been tested so far, of which the samples of 293 tested negative and the reports of 20 are pending. Four have recovered while one has died so far.
(With inputs from Raina Assainar)
