IT Correspondent
Mumbai, Mar 20:
With rapid increase in active COVID-19 cases which have crossed 13,000, the Brihanmumbai Mahanagarpalika (BMC) has sealed 350 buildings in the city and suburbs to prevent spread of pandemic.
On Saturday alone 3062 new cases were registered in Mumbai thus taking total tally to 13912 in the last six days(cumulatively total case load to 3,55,897). The city recorded 10 Covid-19- related deaths, taking the toll to 11,565. The number of active cases was 2,846 on October 07,2020. However after unlock-5 measures were implemented, the number of COVID-19 positive cases has reached all time high.
In light of the increase in Covid-19 cases in Mumbai, the BMC on Friday decided to conduct random rapid antigen tests at all crowded public places such as malls, markets, shopping complexes, bus stations and railway stations. Senior BMC officials said that antigen testing centres will be set up outside malls and a team of healthcare workers will be deployed at crowded areas, including markets and railway stations.
The visitors to the Malls will be required to produce negative antigen certificates before entering the mall. Besides theatres will be required to restrict the number of patrons to 50 per cent.
Rapid antigen detection tests are quicker and take up to 30 minutes as compared to RT-PCR tests that typically take at least 24 hours to give results. As per ICMR guidelines, symptomatic persons who test negative for Covid-19 in the rapid antigen tests should go for RT-PCR test as well.
As per BMC data, nearly half of the patients are asymptomatic. BMC officials said antigen tests were crucial in ensuring that transmission of the virus through asymptomatic patients is detected early.
Following the gradual relaxation of lockdown restrictions, the BMC had last September began to conduct antigen tests on hawkers and shopkeepers in areas that have witnessed a virus growth rate of more than 1 per cent.
Mumbai currently has 34 active containment zones and 305 buildings sealed. The authorities have said that the most of the new infections reported in the last two months have been from residential complexes. Between March 18 and 19, BMC had traced 16,885 high-risk contacts of the infected.
The K west ward (Andheri west, Juhu and Versova) has 533 active sealed floors, the highest of all the 24 municipal wards, followed by P north (Malad), which has 328 sealed floors and K east (Andheri east), which has 327 sealed floors. These three wards constitute 40 per cent of the active total sealed floors across Mumbai.
