At least 5,263 recoveries brought the total number of active Covid cases to 68,052 in Mumbai. (File)
Mumbai:
Mumbai in Maharashtra reported the highest single-day spike in coronavirus cases since the beginning of the pandemic after recording a total of 11,163 cases in the last 24 hours.
The new cases today took the overall COVID-19 count to 4,52,445 in the city while 25 deaths today took the death count to 11,776.
At least 5,263 recoveries today brought the total number of active Covid cases to 68,052.
The recovery rate of Mumbai district stands at 82 per cent at present while the doubling rate of cases is 42 days. The new cases came out after 43,597 Covid tests were conducted in the city.
Amid an unprecedented surge in coronavirus cases across the state, the Maharashtra government has announced new restrictions including a night curfew in the state and a “strict lockdown” over the weekends from Friday 8 pm to Monday 7 am.
The rules, which come into effect tomorrow, include a curfew from 8 pm to 7 am; a ban on gatherings of five or more throughout the day; malls, restaurants, bars and places of worship will be closed; home delivery and essential services will be allowed.
Mumbai reported over 9,000 cases on Saturday and 8,800 cases on Friday. Meanwhile, Maharashtra reported nearly 50,000 new cases on Saturday – around 60 per cent of all cases reported from across the country on that day. On Friday, the state reported around 48,000 cases.
The authorities in Mumbai have also stepped up measures to control the spread of the virus, including conducting random COVID-19 tests on people in public places like malls and bus stations, where they say many are flouting rules by not wearing face masks or maintaining social distance.
According to the centre, eight of the top 10 worst-affected districts in India are from Maharashtra.
Following a high-level meeting today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office said central teams comprising public health specialists and clinicians will be sent to Maharashtra, Punjab and Chhattisgarh because of the high number of cases and a disproportionate number of deaths.
Maharashtra has contributed 57 per cent of the total cases and 47 per cent of the deaths in the country in the country over the last 14 days and the state’s medical infrastructure – tested by earlier waves of infections – is under more pressure.