Mumbai records lowest one-day COVID tally in over 3 months with 700 cases; 8776 tests done

In a heartening development, Mumbai recorded just 700 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, July 28- which is the lowest single-day tally in over three months. This is a steep fall from Monday that had witnessed 1033 persons testing positive for the novel coronavirus. Revealing this information, Maharashtra Environment, Tourism and Protocol Minister Aaditya Thackeray added that the highest ever COVID-19 testing was also conducted on Tuesday with 8776 samples being tested for the novel coronavirus in the city. Describing this as a major relief, Thackeray cautioned against letting the guard down.

According to the Maharashtra CM's son, the testing would be further ramped up in Mumbai as a result of the BMC's initiative. He also mentioned that Maharashtra's capital was the only city to allow citizens to "test at will". Moreover, he noted that this successful model is also being implemented in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, leading to testing facilities being enhanced. 

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Mission Universal Testing

Amid scepticism over the level of COVID-19 testing in Mumbai, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation on June 24 launched 'Mission Universal Testing'. BMC Commissioner Iqbal Chahal gave instructions in this regard to the concerned officials. This initiative was aimed to trace, test, and provide medical treatment to citizens in order to control the spread of COVID-19. As a part of this initiative, the BMC acquired 1 lakh antigen testing kits which would be used across all Municipal hospitals, government hospitals, and COVID Care Centres.

The civic body requested 35 large private hospitals across Mumbai Municipal Region to purchase and use these government-approved antigen testing kits. Senior citizens above the age of 70 were permitted to get themselves tested at home without a doctor's prescription. Additionally, the BMC instructed corporate houses and private companies to procure rapid testing kits developed by Abbott and Rache to test their employees. 

Read: Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Total Cases Crosses 14 Lakh; Recovery Rate Increases To 64.23%

BMC liberalizes testing norms

In another landmark move, the BMC in July decided that an individual can get himself tested without a doctor's prescription. Labs were empowered to conduct RT-PCR tests as per the ICMR guidelines. Home swab collection for COVID-19 testing was permitted. Direct high-risk contacts of a confirmed case and an asymptomatic patient with co-morbidities can be tested between day 5 and day 10. Furthermore, rapid antigen tests can be done in high-risk groups seeking hospitalization such as patients undergoing chemotherapy, transplant patients, patients with a malignant disease etc. 

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