19 October,2020 07:04 AM IST | Mumbai | A correspondent
A civic doctor conducts a swab test at Ghatkopar East. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi
There's no sign of drop in COVID-19 infections in Mumbai, suggests the figure of the first half of October. Between October 1 and October 15, the city recorded 31,054 cases - almost the same as the August tally and half of the September figure. By mid of the month, the fatalities, too, have reached half of the previous two months' data.
The city recorded 31,518 and 60,547 cases in August and September, respectively. The deaths reduced slightly in September to 1,279 from 1,305 in August, while 666 COVID-19 patients died between October 1 and October 15.
Residents of Doordarshan CHS get tested for COVID-19 at an antigen testing camp at Gokuldham, Goregaon, on Friday. Pic/Satej Shinde
The number of COVID-19 cases in the state as well as the country has declined since the first week of October. However, the daily tally has increased in Mumbai, which has been reporting more than 2,000 cases off and on this month.
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The only positive sign is the Test Positivity Rate (TPR) - which shows the number of positive cases per 100 tests - of the past three days. In the first half of October, the TPR was around 16 per cent, which dropped by 4 per cent to 12 per cent in the past three days. The TPR was 17 per cent in September.
"It is a positive sign, as the number of cases is not increasing with the number of tests being conducted in the city," said a BMC official. However, he cautioned against complacency. "Even though the number of cases has decreased slightly, people should follow the physical distancing rule strictly to avoid another peak," he added.
Meanwhile, the mortality rate among younger people has declined this month. More than 75 per cent of deaths have been reported in people aged above 60.
31,518
No. of COVID-19 cases recorded in August
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