Mumbai sees 979 new COVID cases; city's death toll at 7035 as positivity dips below 20%

Ahead of India's 74th Independence Day, the nation's financial capital reported 979 new Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases and 47 new deaths on Friday. The city saw almost equal number of recoveries - 907, taking the discharged tally to 1,01,861 cases. With the slowing rate of growth in COVID-19 cases, Mumbai's tally stands ar 1,28,550 cases - of which 19,354 are active. Death toll stands at 7035 in the city.

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Mumbai: 979 new COVID cases

Mumbai is seeing a steady rise in recovery rate - standing at 79% now while its growth rise slowed to 0.80%. BMC reported that 6,37,876 samples have been tested till date with a 19.99% positivity rate. As per BMC's war room report, 168 of 1095 ventilator beds were vacant, while 347 of 1836 ICU beds were vacant.

Fadnavis demands reopening of gyms in Maharashtra, questions priority to liquor shops

Fadnavis: "Reopen gyms in Maharashtra"

Earlier in the day, ex-CM Devendra Fadnavis wrote to CM Uddhav Thackeray demanding immediate reopening of gymnasiums across the state. Though the Ministry of Home Affairs allowed gyms to resume functioning in the Unlock 3.0 phase, the Maharashtra government has retained the earlier restrictions. Fadnavis lamented the fact that gyms remained closed in the state at a juncture when liquor shops have been permitted to operate.

Mumbai sees 1200 new COVID cases; recovery rate soars to 79% with 1,00,094 discharged

Mumbai's COVID crisis  

With Maharashtra extending its lockdown, the BMC has increased its containment zones to 605, while over 5454 buildings and chawls have been sealed and are being self-managed by the society. While slums were initially where most cases were found, BMC claims that most cases were now found in housing societies. The recent BMC report shows South Mumbai as the most affected place with the doubling rate at 50 days, while Deonar is the least affected ward with a doubling rate at 131 days. Overall, Mumbai's doubling rate at 84 days is higher than the national average of 22 days.

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Maharashtra remains the worst-hit state reporting 12,608 new COVID19 cases, 10,484 recoveries & 364 deaths on Friday. This took the total number of cases in the state to 5,72,734, including 1,50,105 active cases, 4,01,442 cured cases and 19,063 till date. The state's recovery has risen to 70.09% while its case positivity dropped to 18.8%.