KDMC is first civic body in Mumbai's neighbourhood to cross 20,000 Covid-19 cases

MUMBAI: Kalyan-Dombivli on Saturday became the first civic body in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (barring Mumbai) to cross the 20,000 mark in Covid-19 cases . With 303 new cases reported on Saturday, the caseload there is now 20,270. Eleven fresh deaths took the toll there to 368. Thane, with 19,253 cases, has the second highest number of cases in region, having tested over 96,000 swabs till Saturday.

However, though cases have risen in the region all through July, civic administrators and doctors feel they are now better equipped to handle the situation than they were at the start of the outbreak and expect that cases will reach a plateau within a month.

The Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) registered 13,392 cases in July as compared to 5,541 cases in June. But KDMC health officer Dr Pratibha Panpatil said, “In mid-July we had over 600 cases daily. It has now dropped to below 400.” Dr Panpatil ’s team has adopted the ‘Dharavi model’ to survey 1.75 lakh households in 42 hotspots.

Mira-Bhayander registered 4,876 new patients in July, almost double that of June’s count (2,549). “We have passed the danger zone. Now all we need is early detection,” said Dr Ajay Sankhe, who is director of Bhaktivedanta hospital, Mira Road and in charge of the state’s Pandit Bhimsen Joshi Covid hospital in Bhayander. The case doubling rate in Mira-Bhayander has gone up from 15 days to 35 days in two weeks, officials said, and Covid beds are available in the region.

In Thane too, doctors said beds are available and complaints of poor treatment have dropped. “Thane and other civic bodies in MMR are now in a zone where we are confident about treating Covid cases. Patients should stop hiding their symptoms and get tested,” said a doctor. Thane had 10,200 positive cases in July, double of what it recorded in June (5,500).

In Bhiwandi, municipal commissioner Dr Pankaj Ashiya said the ‘Malegaon model’ had helped to stabilize matters. Bhiwandi saw 1,815 cases in June and 1,659 in July. Roping in community leaders and creating awareness about the pandemic has taken the case doubling rate to 78 days, doctors said. The recovery rate has also touched 82 %. “Today we have 85% vacant bed capacity. If patients test early and serious patients take treatment here rather than rushing to Thane and Mumbai, we can flatten the curve soon,” Dr Ashiya said.

Cases in Navi Mumbai doubled from 4,321 in June to 8,562 in July. In mid-July, health officers focused on lowrisk contacts to break the transmission chain. “Testing has become quick and early diagnosis will help bring down mortality rate,” a doctor said.

In Ulhasnagar, the coronavirus cases went up three times in July (4,881), compared to June (1,506). Civic officials said taht it is too early to let the guard down but they are hopeful that cases will stabilize soon. “The situation is improving in the township. The detections will continue to increase but with early treatment, we will be able to control the virus. Social distancing and masks will remain key,” a civic official said.

Palghar district in July shifted its focus to villages to prevent the spread of the virus in rural areas. The cases in the district doubled in July with 9,839 patients as against 4,100 in June. Experts here said MMR is bearing the brunt of delayed testing and fears about the virus. “Most patients coming to us are at a late stage. But that is slowly changing,” said a doctor in Nalasopara.

The Uran taluka in Raigad district saw 869 cases last month as against 272 in June. Panvel city more than doubled its cases in July, and rural Panvel, where cases were 692 in July, had 2,088 cases by the end of July.