A seven-month-old baby was among the 33 people who tested positive for COVID-19 in the State, taking the total count of cases to 186 on Saturday. Mumbai once again recorded the highest jump with 22 positive cases in a day. At least five patients in the State remain in critical condition.
According to civic officials, the baby is admitted at HBT Trauma Care Hospital, Jogeshwari. “The baby’s mother has a travel history to Saudi Aradia and tested positive two days ago. The baby was admitted to hospital on Saturday after the tests results. Samples of six of their contacts have been sent for testing,” said a civic official adding that contact tracing has been carried out in two wards as the mother and child had spent a few days in Byculla and Bandra east. Officials said that sanitisation activities were carried out in the government colony area in Bandra east.
As many as 323 patients are currently in hospital in the State of whom 104 are completely asymptomatic even as they have tested positive. As on Saturday, 26 patients have been discharged from isolation facilities after recovery.
Four of the patients who tested positive in Mumbai on Saturday have an international travel history while the remaining are contacts of patients who had tested positive earlier. The others include four from Pune, two from Nagpur, four from Palghar, Vasai-Virar and Navi Mumbai region, and one from Jalgaon.
The civic body on Saturday also confirmed the death of the 85-year-old surgeon from South Mumbai due to COVID-19. With this addition, the State’s death toll is now six. The deceased’s son, a cardiac surgeon and his grandson who had returned from the UK who also tested positive, are admitted at the Hinduja Hospital. The case has sparked a debate on whether the family of doctors could have taken more safety measures. On Saturday, a few staff members from the Saifee Hospital tested negative while some more reports were pending.
Asked about challenges facing BMC, Suresh Kakani, additional municipal commissioner (health), said, “The biggest challenge is when educated people behave in an irresponsible manner. We are carrying out counselling in slums but learned people are behaving this way.” Elaborating on latest measures being taken by BMC to contain the spread, he said, “We have now undertaken rigorous disinfection of slums and within a week will cover every slum.”
(With inputs from Tanvi Deshpande)
