COVID-19: 'Cannot go backwards Mumbai', says BMC as city records over 5,000 cases

BMC health officials take swab of passengers coming to Mumbai from other states. Pic/Sameer Abedi

As Mumbai reported over 5,000 fresh COVID-19 cases for the second consecutive day on Thursday, the BrihanMumbai Corporation (BMC) cautioned people to not let their guard down.

The civic body posted a picture on Twitter that read, "High numbers, Higher caution." They urged people to follow all COVID-19 prevention norms and stay safe from the deadly virus. Using the #NaToCorona, the BMC also compared Mumbai's COVID-19 numbers of Wednesday with the number in January.

The financial capital of India was reporting over 3,000 cases every day over the last few days. The spike in the number of COVID-19 cases has been attributed to the increased number of tests that are being conducted daily across the city.

Recently, the BMC started testing people randomly at crowded places like malls, railway stations, bus depots, khau galli, markets, tourist places, and government offices. As per a notification issued by the civic body, if a citizen refuses to take the test, it would amount to an offence under the Epidemic Act, 1897.

Considering the spike in numbers, the civic body has also increased the availability of COVID-19 beds from 13,773 to 21,000. The BMC, which completed administering 10 lakh doses of the COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday has also assured of increasing the number to 1 lakh vaccination per day.