India / COVID-19 positivity rate in Mumbai has dropped below 20%: BMC

Free Press Journal : Jul 28, 2020, 04:08 PM
Mumbai: Even though Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has increased their per day Covid testing from 6,500 to 7,500, the positivity rate of Mumbai has dropped below 20 per cent on a daily basis last week. Officials and health experts said it is the good sign of Mumbai as the numbers are steady and, furthermore, it will decrease, but they need to focus more on mortality rate which is still high compared to the state and nation.

According to the data provided by the civic health department, the positivity rate in the month of May was above 40 per cent which has now reduced to 20 per cent. On July 25, the positivity rate of Mumbai was 13 per cent as only 1,090 were tested positive of 8,495 tests conducted. “The cases are declining in the city due to which the daily positivity rate has also decreased. In the last week, the positivity rate of the city was 14 per cent,” said an official.

The Free Press Journal has analysed the data of last week which revealed the average positivity rate has come down to 15%, while overall is at 17–18%. A total of 35742 tests were conducted in Mumbai from July 21 to July 25, while 5273 people were found positive during this period, which is an average of 15 per cent.

Currently, Mumbai has 1.10 lakh corona cases, of which 81,000 have recovered till now. The doubling rate has also increased to 67 days, while the weekly growth rate has now reduced to 1.03 per cent. “All these factors have led to improve the condition of Mumbai, but citizens need to be cautious and take precautions,” said an expert.

Suresh Kakani, Additional Municipal Commissioner, BMC, said that due to change in testing strategies and reaching as many people before they show symptoms have led to yield good results in the city. “We have changed the testing policy and allowed everyone to undergo testing after consulting their doctors.

At the same time, corona warriors are being tested in every ward to increase the number of antigen testing. Since the positivity rate is stable for the last few days, it is declining as more testing increases,” he said.

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER