40 deaths in city on Wed; no. of +ve cases almost double in last 24 hrs
In a sharp uptick in the number of coronavirus fatalities, 40 deaths were recorded in Mumbai on Wednesday, the highest in a day so far, taking the city's death toll to 596. Meanwhile, the number of positive cases almost doubled in the last 24 hours, from 426 on Tuesday to 800 on May 13, with the total number of city cases standing at 15,747 on Wednesday. The mortality rate for both, the city and state, is currently at 3.77 per cent.
“Seventeen of the 40 deaths occurred between May 4 and May 10. Similarly, 198 of 800 new cases tested positive in private labs between May 10 and May 11, updated in Wednesday’s data,” said Dr Daksha Shah, deputy executive health officer, BMC.
According to the state health department, Maharashtra recorded 1,459 corona cases and 54 deaths in the last 24 hours, which takes the total number of cases to 25,922, including 975 deaths until now. 422 patients were discharged in the state on Wednesday.
Health experts fear that the number of deaths per day can only rise, as the number of cases continue to increase. It is estimated that only 10 per cent of the cases could turn serious, requiring oxygen or ventilator support.
Additional Municipal Commissioner Suresh Kakani said, the severity of the disease and co-morbid conditions in patients were proving to be major challenges. “In addition, there is a definite delay in accessing care for factors ranging from fear to stigma. Moreover, if they come to us too late, there is very little doctors can do,” he said.
Of the deceased, three were below the age of 40 years, 20 were above 60 years old, and 17 deaths were of those aged between 40 and 60 years. Twenty-two patients had comorbidities. “We are seeing uncontrolled diabetes and hypertension in many patients who are becoming critical and dying. Many have a tendency to ignore initial symptoms, thinking it’s nothing to worry about. We urge everyone to consult fever clinics or any healthcare facility near them at the first sign,” Kakani said.
Of the 2,30,857 laboratory samples, 2,03,439 were negative and 25,922 have been tested positive for coronavirus until Wednesday. So far 5,547 have recovered and been discharged. Currently, 2,98,213 people are in home quarantine and 14,627 people are in institutional quarantine.