BJP accuses BMC of manipulating COVID death data,claims 'some fatalities shown separately'

BJP on Thursday launched another scathing attack on the BMC's handling of the COVID-19 situation in Mumbai. Writing a letter to Maharashtra Chief Secretary Sanjay Kumar, former Lok Sabha MP Kirit Somaiya accused the BMC of manipulating the daily COVID-19 death data. He pointed out that the additional death figures from the previous period were shown separately in a "mischievous manner".

According to him, an example of correct representation of death data was seen on June 19 and June 20 where the death toll was an addition of the day's fatalities and those from the earlier period. Moreover, he observed that Mumbai had added 653 deaths from June 19-24, which implies an average of 109 deaths for the last 6 days. Claiming that 21 novel coronavirus deaths took place at the KEM Hospital on June 16, Somaiya stated that this was a serious matter. He expressed hope that the BMC would stop underreporting deaths and show more transparency. 

Read: Delhi Surpasses Mumbai's COVID-19 Tally Even As State Govt Plans House-to-house Screening

Read: Mumbai Police Celebrate First Birthdays Of Three Dogs-in-training, Watch Adorable Video

28,653 active cases in Mumbai

With 1144 persons testing positive for the novel coronavirus in Mumbai on Wednesday, the city's COVID-19 tally surged to 69,625. At present, there are 28,653 active COVID-19 cases in the state. The number of recovered soared to 37,010 after 2434 patients were discharged in the day. Meanwhile, 38 COVID-19 deaths were reported on Wednesday, propelling Mumbai's fatality toll to 3962. 82 deaths from the previous period were also added to the overall death tally. 76 of the aforesaid deceased had co-morbidities. 

2,99,379 COVID-19 tests have been conducted in various laboratories across Mumbai till June 23. The number of COVID-19 cases in the city grew at a rate of 1.81% from June 17-23. 4,27,325 senior citizens have been surveyed for SPO2 by visiting 25,17,147 houses. A total of 2106 senior citizens were given treatment or referred to medical facilities. While there are 765 active containment zones currently, 6116 buildings have been sealed. As of now, 17,411 high-risk contacts are admitted to Corona Care Centres 1. The patient doubling rate in Mumbai is 39 days. The recovery rate of the Mumbai district is 53%. 

Read: Coronavirus Live Updates: India Reports Highest Single Day Spike; Recovery Rate At 57.43%