Maharashtra Assembly’s Opposition Leader, Devendra Fadnavis (BJP) had alleged in a tweet that the BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) is not testing enough. His tweet read - “It was relieving to see yesterday’s Covid cases in Mumbai coming down to 806 until I realised that only 3300 samples were tested. Are we playing with the lives of Mumbaikars?”
In its response, the BMC has said that such allegations are “baseless”, adding that the civic body has significantly ramped up its testing infrastructure and that the daily testing average has increased from 4,000 to 5,500 tests per day as on July 8.
Also read - Devendra Fadnavis Visits Thane District, Suggests Government To Ramp Up Testing
The civic body has allowed testing of patients at private clinics without a prescription which has significantly ramped up testing capabilities across the city. However, it’s no secret that getting a test done is not as easy as it should be, and the State Government, as well as the civic body, needs to do more to make sure anybody can get a test.
The BMC has said that it is additionally conducting nearly 1 lakh antigen tests to detect COVID-19 antibodies which can be crucial in understanding the spread of the virus in key areas or clusters.
The authorities announced that as of July 8, a total of 3.64 lakh COVID-19 tests have been conducted in Mumbai. Considering that it has been four months since the pandemic reached the city, it must be said that testing hasn’t been done at a scale that is necessary.
However, it’s worth pointing out that other states in India are following the same protocol, and the State of Maharashtra was conducting the most COVID-19 tests as of mid-April.
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