Mumbai: July COVID cases lowest in 15 months, deaths still a concern

A passenger being tested for COVID at LTT, Kurla, on Friday. Pic/Sameer Markande

In July, Mumbai reported its lowest number of COVID-19 cases in the past 15 months. However, fatalities due to respiratory illness remain a
cause for concern.

The average number of daily cases, at 435, was also lower than that of January, when the city reported the minimum tally of the first COVID-19 wave. The city had reported an average of 516 cases daily in January, and 624 in February when the second wave struck. It was also in July that the city reported its lowest tally of second wave - 299 cases on July 26.

However, the average number of deaths confirmed every day has remained on the higher side.

Between July 1 and July 30, the city registered 408 deaths, almost three and a half times higher than the February figure.

Till February, the city had registered a total of 9,690 COVID-19 fatalities. And, between March and July 29, there were 5,854 deaths - which can be counted as the official figure of the second wave. More than 1,500 people died in April and May. Though the number gradually dropped, it is stuck around 14 deaths a day in July. An average of four deatwaserewas recorded in February.

As of July 29, there were 522 critical patients in the city and are getting treatment with life support systems. "The number of cases was much more than the first wave but the mortality rate (deaths per 100 cases) is around one per cent, which is lower than other districts. The BMC implemented various measures to control fatalities and many serious patients recovered after taking treatment, which is a positive sign," said Suresh Kakani, additional commissioner of the BMC.

In July, public and private laboratories conducted more than 32,000 tests (including RTPCR and antigen) daily and the total figure crossed 9.37 lakh.