Mumbai's COVID-19 tally surges to 11,967 with 748 new cases; death toll stands at 462

On Friday, 748 novel coronavirus cases were reported in Mumbai as of 6 pm propelling the city's COVID-19 tally to 11,967. This includes 206 positive COVID-19 patients whose laboratory reports were received in the day. With 154 more persons recovering from the novel coronavirus, the number of discharged rose to 2,589. Meanwhile, 25 patients died owing to COVID-19 taking Mumbai's death toll to 462. 18 of the deceased individuals had co-morbidities. 

The Public Health Department of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation stated that it had implemented various proactive measures such as fever screening clinics in containment zones, house to house survey of identifying influenza-like cases, screening of close contacts in slum areas and scanning of senior citizens like Pulse oximeter. It appealed to the citizens to not panic in the case of a close contact testing positive for COVID-19. Moreover, it stressed that all contacts needed to undergo quarantine. 

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Maharashtra CM rubbishes rumours of Army taking charge of Mumbai

Currently, there are 19,063 confirmed novel coronavirus cases in Maharashtra out of which 3,470 patients have been discharged while 731 casualties have been reported. Addressing the residents of the state on Friday, Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray rubbished the rumours of the Army taking charge of Mumbai and closing down all shops. He maintained that there was no need to take the assistance of the Army as each resident of the state was a soldier in the fight against COVID-19. At the same time, he hinted at the possibility of the state government seeking additional forces from the Centre to ensure that the overworked police personnel can take rest in rotation.

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BMC Commissioner transferred

Amid the rising number of COVID-19 cases in Mumbai, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation Commissioner Praveen Pardeshi was transferred as the Additional Chief Secretary in the Urban Development Department. Iqbal Chahal, the current Principal Secretary, Urban Development Department has been appointed as the new BMC Commissioner. Meanwhile, former Thane Municipal Corporation Commissioner Sanjeev Jaiswal will take over as the Additional BMC Commissioner replacing Abasaheb Jarhad.

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