Mumbai: Covid cases surge, number of tests dip

Between December 26-28, when Maharashtra recorded highest one-day surges since October, the numbers of tests being conducted dropped to the lowest recorded for the month of December.

Written by Rupsa Chakraborty
Mumbai | Updated: December 30, 2021 09:17 AM IST

4 min read

On December 26, Maharshtra conducted 1,02,045 tests, of which 1,648 turned out to be positive for Covid-19, with a TPR of 1.61 per cent. (File)

AT A time when the state is facing a possible outbreak of a third wave, the public health department is lagging behind in conducting Covid-19 tests, thereby recording an increase in the Test Percentage Rate (TPR) — number of positive cases detected when compared to the total tests conducted.

Between December 26-28, when Maharashtra recorded highest one-day surges since October, the numbers of tests being conducted dropped to the lowest recorded for the month of December.

An analysis of data shows that till December 28, the state had recorded an average of 1,11,932 tests. However, between December 26-28, this average went down to 97,414 tests.

Also Read | Mumbai: Ward-level squads to take action against Covid norm violators

On December 26, Maharshtra conducted 1,02,045 tests, of which 1,648 turned out to be positive for Covid-19, with a TPR of 1.61 per cent. The next day, the number dropped to 93,819 and 1,426 cases were detected with a TPR of 1.51 per cent. On December 28, the number rose slightly to 96,379, with 2,172 cases being dectected, pushing the TPR to 2.25 per cent.

When asked, Public Health Minister Rajesh Tope refuted that there has been a dip in testing numbers. “There hasn’t been any drop in testing. In fact, we have boosted the daily testing numbers due to he threat of Omicron,” he said.

Though active cases in the state have surged by 55 per cent — from 7,391 to 11,492 — between December 1-28, the overall testing numbers have increased by only 1.9 per cent, which the doctors claim is inadequate. Between December 1-14, 15,52,284 tests were conducted, which increased slightly to 15,81,824 in December 15-28.

Also Read | State’s 7-day positivity rate rises to 1.6%; at 2.3%, Mumbai is a cause for concern

According to the National Covid-19 Task Force, this “casual attitude” might prove dangerous for the state, considering the growing concern about the third wave and the threat about Omicron.

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“Only three ways can we contain the spread — Test, Treat and Vaccinate. At this moment, Maharashtra can’t lag behind in testing, which will prove disastrous. Stringent testing should be conducted in hotspots and among vulnerable populations,” said Subhas Shalunke, a member of the task force.

In the past few days, Mumbai, which is facing a surge in cases, has conducted tests below the 35,000 threshold, decreasing its TPR. On Tuesday, the city conducted 32,369 tests, of which 1,377 turned out to be positive, pushing the TPR to 4.25 per cent.

In the last week of November, the Centre had cautioned the state for conducting inadequate number of tests.

WEST BENGAL

Kolkata: West Bengal reported five new Omicron cases on Wednesday, taking the state’s overall tally of the new Covid variant to 11. The state recorded 1089 new Covid-19 cases over the last 24 hours, marking a huge jump from 382 cases on Tuesday. The tally over the last 24 hours also represents the biggest single-day rise in cases over the past one week.
Kolkata drove the spike in infections on Wednesday, accounting for 540 cases and followed by North 24 Parganas at 145. The fresh cases drove the state’s overall tally of infections to 16,32,906. On Monday, the state had registered 439 cases, with Kolkata accounting for 204 of them.

KARNATAKA

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Bengaluru: Karnataka on Wednesday recorded 566 new Covid-19 cases, of which Bengaluru alone accounted for 400, pushing the total number of active cases in the state to 7,771. Bengaluru also saw the maximum number of deaths due to the virus in the day after it clocked four of the six deaths. The two others were recorded in Chitradurga and Tumkuru.

GOA

Panaji: Ahead of the New Year’s Eve celebrations in Goa, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday said organisers of parties in restaurants and other public functions will have to ensure that their guests are either fully vaccinated or have a negative test report for Covid-19.

The government ordered that restaurants, pubs, bars must allow entry to only those guests who are fully vaccinated or have a negative test report in addition to adhering to Covid-19 protocols. State Revenue Secretary Sanjay Kumar issued an order restricting operation of casinos, cinema halls, auditoria, community halls, river cruises, water parks and entertainment parks to 50 percent of their capacity, as the test positivity rate climbed above 5 per cent.

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