Sparking huge concerns, Mumbai's super-congested slum of Dharavi logged 150 Covid-19 cases on Friday, the highest since the outbreak of the pandemic in March 2020, health officials said here.
Since Thursday, the slum pocket has entered the 3-digit figures of infections - 107 on Thursday and 150 today with 588 active cases.
Dharavi, falling in G/North Ward of BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), has logged in a total 7,776 cases in the past 22 months of the pandemic.
With special attention devoted to Dharavi by the BMC, the area reported a peak of 94 cases on May 3, 2020 in the first wave and 99 infections on April 8, 2021 during the second tide.
The Delhi health department has asked all city government-run hospitals to cancel leaves, barring maternity and medical leaves, granted to their staff in view of a steep spike in coronavirus infections.
"In view of recent surge in Covid-19 cases and for efficient management of Covid-19 pandemic in NCT of Delhi, all MDs/MSs/Directors of all hospitals of Government of NCT of Delhi are directed not to grant leaves of any type except maternity leaves and other medical leaves to any medical and non-medical staff with immediate effect and cancel all such leaves, if already granted," read an order issued by the health department.
There is no immediate need for imposing lockdown or additional restrictions in Mumbai as the bed occupancy rate, oxygen requirement and number of Covid-19 deaths are low, municipal commissioner Iqbal Chahal said on Friday.
During the first and second wave the decision to impose lockdown was taken on the basis of case positivity rate, but this criterion cannot be applied for the third wave which started from December 21, 2021, Chahal told a Marathi news channel.
Goa on Friday reported 1,432 Covid-19 cases, with the positivity rate (cases per 100 tests) reaching 21.72 per cent, up from 20.46 per cent a day earlier, a health department official said.