At 1,794, Mumbai logs lowest COVID-19 cases since March 16; Significant dip in Maharashtra too

Mumbai, May 10: Mumbai on Monday recorded a steep drop in new coronavirus cases at 1,794, the lowest single-day count in nearly two months, while 74 patients succumbed to the infection, the city civic body said.

With the addition of 1,794 new coronavirus infections and 74 fresh fatalities, the financial capital''s cumulative caseload rose to 6,78,269 and the toll to 13,891, according to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation''s (BMC) updated data.

The number of daily coronavirus cases in Maharashtra, which has been reeling under the resurgent pandemic, also dropped below 40,000 to 37,236 for the first time after March 31. Maharashtra's overall caseload now stands at 51,38,973 while 549 fatalities pushed the toll 76,398, the state health department said.

Maharashtra had reported 39,544 cases on March 31. The state had reported 54,022 cases on May 7, 53,605 on May 8 and 48,401 on May 9. OF the 549 fatalities, 302 had occurred in the past 48 hours. While 113 deaths had occurred last week, 134 people had died before the last week, the department said.

After a gap of 54 days, Mumbai has logged less than 2,000 COVID-19 cases in a day. Earlier on March 16, the metropolis had witnessed 1,922 new cases.

Also, for the 10th day in a row, Mumbai''s daily COVID-19 case count remained below the 4,000-mark though the number of fatalities has fluctuated between 62 and 90 during the period.

Fewer coronavirus tests over the weekend could have led to a significant drop in the number of new infections.

According to the BMC, 23,061 COVID-19 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours, taking the number of samples examined so far to 57,33,431.

Mumbai reported 609 less new infections, but half a dozen more fatalities as compared to Sunday, when it had reported 2,403 cases and 68 fatalities.

As per the BMC, the number of active COVID-19 cases in Mumbai has gone down to 45,534.

In the last 24 hours, 3,580 patients were discharged from hospitals, pushing the number of recovered cases to 6,16,998, according to the BMC data.

Mumbai''s COVID-19 recovery rate has improved to 91 per cent.

As per the BMC, the city''s average growth rate of COVID-19 cases for the period May 3 and May 9 was 0.41 per cent, while the case doubling rate was 163 days.

According to the civic body, Mumbai has 87 active containment zones in slums and ''chawls'' (old row tenements), while 493 buildings have been sealed after a certain number of their residents tested positive for coronavirus.

The number of sealed buildings has gone down below 500 after a gap of more than a month.

Mumbai had reported the highest-ever 11,163 new COVID-19 cases on April 4, whereas during the second wave the highest single-day fatalities - at 90- were recorded on May 1, 2021.

Mumbai has been registering a steady drop in daily cases, earning praise from the Supreme Court for its COVID-19 management.