‘Over 70K RT-PCR tests needed in Mumbai daily’

BMC health workers collect swab samples for RT-PCR tests from passengers at Dadar station. Pics/Ashish Raje

Expressing concern over the steady rise in the city's test positivity rate (TPR), the state task force said that more than 70,000 RT-PCR tests should be conducted in Mumbai daily. Currently, about 30,000-35,000 tests are conducted on a daily basis. On August 19, the city recorded its lowest TPR in the second wave at 0.53 per cent, post which there has been a gradual rise. On Tuesday, Mumbai's TPR was 1.06 per cent.

"Cases are going up and the TPR is also becoming a cause for concern. We have to go slow with unlocking and get the norms back," said a state task force member.
The member added that not enough people were getting tested because of the fear of being quarantined and this would soon have a larger impact if not dealt with at the earliest.

‘Not getting reported'

"Under-reporting is a major concern now. People are doing rapid antigen tests at home, which are not getting reported. With the festive season around, people have also become hesitant towards getting tested. We need to strengthen the testing and tracing system so that people are treated on time and the spread is contained," said the member.

The task force has also recommended conducting more genome tests in the city.

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"On an average, 30,000-35,000 tests are done daily. We have to increase it to 70,000- 80,000 tests per day. Testing, tracing and treatment are crucial along with genomic testing, which will tell us more about mutation," said Dr Kedar Toraskar, member of the state task force.

"There are people who have taken both shots of the vaccine or one and got the infection. We need to include them in genome sequencing and find out whether any mutated strain played a role," added Dr Toraskar.

Dr Om Shrivastav, infectious disease expert and member of the state task force, said the future of handling COVID-19 is conducting intense vaccination drives and genomic studies.

"People who have not taken their vaccine should take it. It is important to curtail your social activities. While attending social events follow COVID-appropriate behaviour," he said.

Nine wards see rise in cases

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has, however, decided to concentrate on wards that have been seeing a high number of cases over the last few days. According to the civic body, nine wards saw more than 100 cases in the last couple of days.

Suresh Kakani, additional municipal commissioner, BMC, said, "The ward officers concerned have been asked to follow the testing, tracing and treatment procedure. We have also directed them to send samples of COVID positive patients in these wards for genome sequencing."

Meanwhile, the state government said that it vaccinated 1.61 lakh people in Mumbai in a single day earlier this week. This translates to a record 336 people being vaccinated every minute on that day.

As per BMC data, 97 lakh vaccine doses have been administered through civic centres and private hospitals till date. Of these 71 lakh people have got their first dose and 26 lakh are fully vaccinated.

In a press release Aaditya Thackeray, Minister of Tourism, Environment and Protocol, said, "Higher vaccination coverage will ensure greater protection and strengthen our preparation for the predicted third wave. This achievement demonstrates the unwavering commitment of our health care workers, civic body and citizens in making Mumbai COVID-free. The city is now more confident of its ability to replicate this scale of vaccination on a daily basis."

97 lakh
No. of vaccine doses administered in city till date

1.06 per cent
Mumbai's Test Positivity Rate on Tuesday