Doctor's prescription won't be required for Covid test in Mumbai; BMC gives testing boost

As COVID-19 cases in Mumbai continue to rise, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has taken a big decision regarding the testing procedure for Coronavirus. A senior BMC official on Tuesday confirmed to Republic TV that no doctor's prescription will be required to get tested for COVID-19.

Further, all high-risk contacts in institutional quarantine facilities are henceforth to be tested before discharge. Till now, those in institutional quarantine were discharged after 10 days if they did not show any symptoms in the last three days. Testing criteria for high-risk contacts in home quarantine have also been eased and they can now get tested through self-declaration. These steps being taken to ramp up testing in Mumbai..

BMC to release order by afternoon

The officer said that the decision will come into effect from Wednesday morning and will be applicable for all patients of the municipal corporation. He said that the move will help many patients as waiting for a doctor's prescription was leading to wastage of time which would affect the treatment. The civic body will release the order by Tuesday afternoon, the official added.

Mumbai has been testing around 4000-5000 tests per day, which experts suggest can be ramped up. The number of COVID-19 cases in Mumbai spiked by 1,201 to 85,326 on Monday while the death toll rose by 39 to 4,935, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said.

A total of 1,269 patients were discharged from various hospitals in the last 24 hours, taking the number of the recovered cases to 57,152, the BMC said in a release.

READ | BMC asks private hospitals to keep staff in campus to check virus spread

READ | Fishing community seeks help from BMC as Mumbai witnesses incessant rainfall

Mumbai now has 23,249 active cases. A total of 762 new suspected cases have been admitted in hospitals, the BMC said. Mumbai's recovery rate now stands at 67% while the doubling rate of cases stands at 44 days, the BMC said, adding that the overall growth rate of cases is 1.60%. 

READ | Mumbai rains: IMD predicts heavy rainfall & high tide on Saturday; BMC issues Dos & Don'ts

READ | BMC declares 750 containment zones & seals 5,875 buildings in Mumbai amid COVID-19 crisis