Testing trend showed 13 per cent rise in cases last week compared to 27 per cent in previous week; but not yet time to lose mask, say docs
A test is carried out ahead of the state Assembly budget session on March 1, 2022. File pic
The number of Covid-19 cases has been increasing since the past month, but the rate of growth has been on the decline, according to official data. In the past seven days, the number of cases increased by just 13 per cent compared to 27 per cent in the previous week. In the last week of March, the growth rate was 100 per cent. In the earlier waves too, the peak was reached when the growth rate decreased, and the overall number of cases subsequently also came down. It will be interesting to see whether the current surge follows the trend of the earlier waves.
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The rate of increase in Covid-19 cases has been declining in Mumbai. The number of cases—as well as those of hospitalisations and deaths—started rising last month. Seven deaths have been registered over the past 30 days. The number of cases per week is over a thousand, with the daily average being over 250. From April 12 to 18, 1,677 cases were recorded, which is higher than the previous week's figure. However, the rate of growth has been declining for the past two weeks, indicating that the situation could improve. It can be seen that the cases doubled in the last week of March.
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The last surge was experienced in May and June 2022 when the cases rose by over 125 per cent in a week and then the declining trend was witnessed. During the third wave, which peaked in January 2022, the rate of growth of cases went down from six-fold to three-fold from January 3 to 9 and then the cases saw a downward trend. A similar trend had been witnessed during the second wave.
National Covid task force member Dr Subhash Salunkhe told mid-day, “The use of a mask in any way, particularly during the transmission of respiratory infection, is a useful strategy and we should follow it; but unfortunately, people do not. In the current scenario, everyone should wear a mask.”