Mumbai: 'COVID third wave is not coming, it's already here,' says Mayor Kishori Pednekar

Amid the sudden increase in the number of fresh COVID-19 cases in Mumbai and concerns of a possible third wave in India, Mayor Kishori Pednekar on Tuesday said that the third wave is not coming, instead, it is already here. This statement by Kishori Pednekar comes after Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray urged all political parties to cancel all religious and political rallies in the state. 

Mumbai Mayor on COVID third wave

While urging people to practice social distancing norms to avoid the spike in COVID cases in Mumbai, Pednekar asked people to stay indoors. She asked people to follow "Mera ghar, mera bappa," which meant that the people should not visit different pandals during the upcoming Ganpati festival. 

Besides this, different mandals in Mumbai have been spreading the word on different social media platforms, urging people to opt for an online darshan of Bappa. However, the mandals also said that if devotees would still turn up at their gates during the festival, they won't turn them away. 

COVID cases in Mumbai

According to the daily COVID reports shared by BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation), in the first six days of September, Mumbai has recorded over 28% of the total number of cases, which it had recorded in the entire August. This sudden increase in the fresh COVID cases has left BMC officials worried ahead of the festive season beginning on September 10 with the "Ganesh Chaturthi."

Earlier on Monday, Additional Municipal Commissioner Suresh Kakani had said that in view of the current situation, the BMC has decided to ramp up COVID-19 testing. BMC has also hired more clean-up marshals to impose fines on people for not following Coronavirus norms such as spitting on roads, etc, Kakani added. Jumbo COVID-19 centres have also been prepared, in case if the situation worsens, said the Additional Municipal Commissioner.

The data shows that Mumbai reported 2,570 COVID-19 infections in the last six days of September, which comes to 28.9% of the total 9,147 cases recorded in the entire month of August. Besides, the city reported 21 fatalities in the last six days, while it had recorded 157 deaths due to COVID-19 during the entire last month.

(Image: ANI, PTI)