Mumbai: COVID-19 cases, deaths in November come down by half

Passengers who arrived at Bandra Terminus being tested on Monday. Pic/Shadab Khan

The number of COVID-19 cases and deaths reduced to half in November than the earlier months and has been the lowest till now. Approximately 24,000 new cases and 516 deaths have been reported in the month. Though the average number of tests is slightly less than in October, the Test Positivity Rate (TPR) is 7 per cent in the city, way below the recommended 10 per cent.

A BMC health worker checks passengers who arrived on the Varanasi Mahanagari Express at CSMT on Monday. Pic/Suresh Karkera

AMID the fear of increasing cases due to rush in markets and gatherings at home in diwali, the number of cases and deaths actually reduced to half. The numbers are even lower than the initial months like May (32,590 cases) and June (37,733 cases). There was an average of less than one thousand new cases per day in November.

Also Read: COVID-19: Mumbai adds 646 new cases; 19 die

After the state government eased the lockdown in June, the cases started increasing and showed the lowest number in August. But after Ganeshutsav the number started increasing sharply and took nearly two months before declining. Though the number of cases increased, the majority of them were asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic. The number of deaths did not increase.

In November the number of cases reduced marginally. The number of deaths reduced to 40 per cent and the mortality rate is lower in younger people who are below the age group of 50 years and over.

Tests increased
The number of tests has increased gradually. Only 6,399 tests were carried out per day in July and the TPR (positive cases among 100 tested) was high at 18.7 per cent. In September the average number of tests per day increased to 11,796 and the TPR came down to 17 per cent. In October the TPR reduced to 12. 5 per cent as the average number of tests reached 13,144 per day. While the number of tests increased sharply in the past 10 days, the average tests are still lower than October. An average of 12,442 tests a day were carried out in November. But the positivity rate which shows the transmission level is just 7 per cent, way below the recommendation of ICMR.

Though the situation is good so far, the BMC is on alert to combat a second wave. "The health teams are screening at railway stations as well as keeping tabs on closed homes of labourers. The rapid antigen tests are being carried out on people like shopkeepers, hawkers, conductors to curb the spread of the virus by early detection," said a BMC officer.

Data through the months
Month New cases Deaths
June 37,733 3,275'
July 37,090 1,796
August 31,518 1,305
September 60,547 1,279
October 50,914 1,306
November (till 28) 24,406 516

'The number is high due to reconciliation of earlier data of deaths

12,442
No. of tests done every day on average in November

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