Not third wave yet, will monitor cases till October 5: BMC

A special camp for Covid tests was held at Ichhapurti Shri Ganesh Temple, Jogeshwari early this week. Pic/Satej Shinde

Just a day after Mayor Kishori Pednekar said that the third wave of the pandemic had already arrived, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said that they will closely monitor the cases in the city till October 5, as most of the people who are travelling due to Ganeshotsav would return by then. Further, civic officials said that the peak of the third wave was expected to be less than that of the second and daily cases would in all probability be below 10,000, as majority of the people are vaccinated.

The officials further said that the daily cases went up in the first five days of September but then dipped again, so this cannot be termed as the start of the third wave. However, they added that the third wave would reach its peak at a slower pace than the second.

People shop ahead of Ganeshotsav at the Lalbaug market on Tuesday. Pic/Ashish Raje

The COVID numbers have been fluctuating since the beginning of this month, and whether it can be called the third wave is still not clear. The civic authorities said that it was very crucial to monitor the situation till October 5 and only if the cases rise consistently, then it could be called the third wave.

Also Read: Third wave of Covid-19 is not coming, it is here: Mumbai Mayor

Civic officials added that many who were travelling to their native places would be back after September 20, and the impact would be noticed after that. The increased number of tests is also helping the civic body gauge the situation. They said that more emphasis would be given on the number of daily tests.

Speaking to mid-day, Additional Municipal Commissioner, Suresh Kakani, said, "The growth rate and TPR are still under control, so it will be very premature to call this the third wave. We are monitoring the situation closely and it will be crucial to see the graph of cases till October 5."