Mumbai: Third wave of Covid-19 is not coming, it is here, says Mayor Kishori Pednekar

Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar. File Pic

Amid a surge of fresh Covid-19 cases in Mumbai and the concerns of a possible third wave in India, mayor Kishori Pednekar on Tuesday said that the third wave of Covid-19 is not coming it is already at our doorstep.

Mayor's statement comes after Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Monday urged political parties to cancel all religious and political rallies in the state.

In the first six days of September, Mumbai has recorded over 28 per cent of the total Covid-19 cases that it had reported during the entire last month, as per civic data.

The spike in the cases has left the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials worried ahead of the festive season beginning on September 10 with the ''Ganesh Chaturthi''.

Additional Municipal Commissioner Suresh Kakani on Monday said in view of the current situation, the BMC has decided to ramp up coronavirus testing, hire more clean-up marshals to impose fine on people spitting in public places, and keep jumbo Covid-19 centres ready.

Also Read: In Photos: Mumbai gears up for Ganeshotsav 2021 amid pandemic

The data shows that Mumbai reported 2,570 Covid-19 infections in the last six days of September, which comes to 28.9 per cent of the total 9,147 cases recorded in the entire month of August. Besides, the city reported 21 fatalities in the last six days, while it had recorded 157 deaths due to Covid-19 during the entire last month.

Meanwhile, the mandals in the city have been spreading the word on social media platforms about online darshan of Bappa, but, they said, if devotees still turn up at their gates during the festival, they won't turn them away. "How can we stop devotees if they come to the pandal? Turning them back is the job of the police, not ours," various popular mandals told mid-day on Monday.