The COVID-19 testing in Maharashtra has dipped; however, Mumbai has remained steady in its testing for COVID-19.
On most days, the city has managed to carry out between 30,000 to 35,000 tests, as reported by the Times of India. Till Sunday, October 17, Mumbai had done 3.7 lakh RT-PCR tests. Along with this, 2.3 lakh Rapid Antigen Tests (RAT) were done.
In September, six lakh testing was done using the RT-PCR testing, and another 4.5 lakhs were RAT. On Tuesday, September 21, the city had completed one crore testing with almost 65% using the RT-PCR testing method.
It has become a matter of concern now as the COVID-19 testing has dropped in Maharashtra in the last two weeks. Meanwhile, state officials said that people are not willing to get tested during the festive season.
Meanwhile, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) senior official agreed that fewer people were getting tested during the Navratri festival in the city; however, their testing has remained steady. Instead of testing people randomly, they carry out targeted testing. They are also trying to abide by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) guidelines to carry out 70% of daily tests using the RT-PCR method.
Yesterday, October 21, the BMC had announced that the civic body is making efforts to vaccinate 100% of the adult population with the first dose by the end of the month.
On Thursday, October 21, India had crossed the 100-crore vaccination mark, while the top five states administering the highest number of doses are Uttar Pradesh, followed by Maharashtra, West Bengal, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.