DOUBLING RATE LESS THAN 100 IN H EAST WARD

Bandra (E), Khar (E) and Santacruz (E) sees rise in active coronavirus cases; BMC officials attribute increase to more people undergoing Covid-19 tests

The H east (E) ward comprising the eastern side of Bandra, Khar and Santacruz was one of the first among the 24 BMC wards to cross the doubling period of 100 days and record the lowest growth rate.

In June, the HE ward had recorded a doubling rate of more than 100 days. Since then, consistently for three months HE had maintained a doubling period over 100 days. The growth rate was less than the average growth rate of Mumbai. However, in August, the case tally in HE ward has again started to increase and the number period of doubling had started to fall. Currently, the HE ward has 461 active cases. A total of 4,458 cases have been reported from the HE ward and 350 people have succumbed to the deadly virus.

As per the latest BMC data, the HE ward has a doubling period of 98 days and the average growth rate is 0.71 per cent .

BMC officials told FPJ that the rise in numbers is the resultant factor of the high number of tests that are being done in these wards. “The people at these wards have become more aware of the tests. They are getting their tests done by themselves instead of waiting for symptoms to show up. The reason why the number of positive cases have increased,” said an official.

A health official from the HE ward told FPJ that due to the heavy rainfall there has also been an increase in cases of flu, common cold, dengue and malaria. People are visiting doctors in high numbers and getting themselves tested at the slightest of symptoms. "This is not a bad sign as it helps us to do fast-paced contact tracing. Most of the patients are asymptomatic. It won't take long to increase the doubling period as well,” he added.