The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) on Saturday recorded its highest single-day surge in COVID-19 cases with 65 people testing positive. The NMMC’s tally has now shot up to 592. Two more deaths were also recorded, taking the death toll to 12.
The Panvel Municipal Corporation (PMC) recorded five positive cases, taking its tally to 143. Eight people were discharged, taking the tally of recoveries to 49.
The PMC on Saturday announced that commercial establishments can open their shutters on specific days. “Each category of shops will be allowed to stay open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on specific days. If there is crowding, we will take back the permission. Shops with only two people, including the owner, will be allowed to open. Showrooms and malls will remain closed,” PMC Commissioner Ganesh Deshmukh said.
Stationery, hardware and general stores can open on Monday and Friday; workshops, service centres and automobile garages can operate business on Tuesday and Saturday; electronic shops and repair centres can function on Wednesday and Sunday; and textile shops can open on Friday.
The PMC has till date tested 1,388 people, of which 35 reports are pending. Panvel Rural has reported two positive cases, taking its to 55, of which 11 have recovered.
On Saturday, the NMMC received 356 reports, of which 271 were negative and 65 tested positive. Of the latest cases, 21 are from Turbhe, 15 from Nerul, nine from Vashi, eight from Koparkhairane, five each from Ghansoli and Airoli, and one each from Digha and Belapur.
Seven patients are from APMC market, while 16 are contacts of patients who worked at the market. Till now, 225 of the 592 positive cases are directly or indirectly connected with the market. Of them, 92 work at the market and 133 are close contacts.
One of the two new victims is a 48-year-old trader at the onion-potato market. A resident of Sector 9 in Vashi, the trader was a diabetic and developed fever on April 27. He consulted a local doctor and started medication. On May 1, he started having difficulty in breathing and was admitted to Vashi General Hospital. His swab report returned positive on May 7.
The second victim was a 53-year-old BEST conductor, who stayed in Sector 3 in Sanpada. He had high blood pressure and diabetes and developed fever on May 1. He was admitted to Millennium Hospital in Sanpada and shifted to Vashi General Hospital after his platelets count dropped. He tested positive for COVID-19 on May 7 and died on Saturday.
Of the 6,266 people tested under the NMMC, 4,113 have tested negative and 1,617 reports are pending. On Saturday, four patients were discharged, taking the total number of recoveries to 71 within NMMC limits.
