Covid-19 clouds behind, Mumbai ready to spring to life

Passengers walk out of LTT, Kurla, without being told to go for tests, on February 20. Pics/Sameer Markande

After 23 months, COVID-19 numbers are at their lowest in February though fatalities remain higher than in December. As per BMC numbers, December saw 35 deaths just before the start of the third wave. So far in February, the city lost 42 lives to Coronavirus, with 138 citizens still in critical condition. The city has seen eight ‘zero death' days in this month.

Things seem set to go to pre-pandemic times after almost two years and three waves, two of which were disastrous. February will remain the month when cases plummeted like never before. In the first 26 days of this month, the city recorded 10, 782 cases, the fourth-lowest monthly toll since the pandemic hit India - March 2020, August 2021 and November 2021. With 42 deaths, the case fatality rate stands at 0.39 per cent. At 35 fatalities, the figure was 0.17 per cent in December.

A BMC worker collects a swab sample at Dadar station, on February 17. Pic/Ashish Raje

Of the 902 active cases, 721 are asymptomatic, while 138 citizens are still on ventilators. "Most of them are seniors with comorbidities. They just require a longer duration of treatment. As per our past experiences, many of them will recover fully," said a senior BMC official.

The number of tests also went down drastically in the last week. Mumbai conducted over 65,000 a day at the peak of the third wave, which has now dropped to around 20,000 per day. The city's test positivity rate hovers over 0.4 per cent.

‘No-mask days quite possible in Mumbai'

Amid falling numbers, mid-day spoke to Dr Pradip Awate, the state surveillance officer, for more insights on the current situation. An excerpt of an interview:

Dr Pradip Awate, state surveillance officer

Can we call this the end of COVID-19?
With COVID cases at an all-time low, we can say that we have reached a milestone on the journey from pandemic to endemic. It is the crucial stage of becoming endemic and going back to pre-COVID days without restrictions. Cases will remain but sporadically, like swine flu. There isn't any sign of a new wave coming and even if it comes in the future it may not be disastrous like the previous first and second waves. Our economy, social life is back on the track and it will now continue without restrictions.

Though most of the restrictions are gone, can we get rid of masks now?
It is quite possible as most people have antibodies either due to infection or vaccination. So compulsion of masks may not be necessary now. But at the same time, we learnt a lesson from the pandemic and etiquette to reduce respiratory disease should be followed in public places. There is a respiratory disease like TB which spreads due to spittings. People with respiratory diseases should wear a mask to curb the spread.

The response to booster dose is poor among healthcare employees. Should it be made mandatory for all?
As I explained earlier most of us have antibodies due to infection or vaccination. Experts across the world are divided into the use of vaccines. It is still not known the exact role of vaccination and it will need further studies on the impact of vaccination. It will take time to study the effect as it is a vast subject. Till then, we have to wait.

All but 3 wards have fewer than 50 active cases

Except for three supposedly upper-class areas, all other parts of the city reported single-digit daily cases last week. K west and H west (Bandra west to Andheri west) and D (Malabar Hill) still have the most number of cases but way lower than earlier days. Of the 902 active cases on February 26, these areas had 248 cases. The other 21 wards have less than 50 active cases each.