Maharashtra’s Leader of the Opposition, Devendra Fadnavis has written more than 10 letters to the Chief Minister’s Office over the past few months asking for an increase in testing. In his latest letter, Fadnavis has urged the state government to conduct more tests in Mumbai. While Fadnavis acknowledges that Maharashtra’s testing rate has increased over a 1-month period, he stressed the need for Mumbai to see a more aggressive testing strategy.
“In July, 6,574 tests were carried out every day in Mumbai, which increased to 7,709 tests daily in August, an increase of only 14 per cent. As a result of this, we see fewer cases being recorded in the city now. In Maharashtra, the tests were increased from 37,528 per day in July to 64,801 per day in August, which is a hike of 42 per cent,” Fadnavis’ letter read.
He also pointed out that Maharashtra and Mumbai continue to have a high COVID-19 positivity rate of 18.44 and 13.64 per cent respectively, while the nationwide average is currently at 8.57%.
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The ex-Maharashtra CM also asked the Uddhav Thackeray-led government to look into the matter of insufficient beds for COVID-19 patients in regions like Satara while also shining a light on the subpar implementation of the Mahatma Phule Jan Arogya Yojana in some districts.
“In Satara, the rate of Covid-19 infection is 22 per cent and there aren’t enough hospital beds for the patients. The state had promised free medical treatment under MPJAY but hospitals are not getting paid as a result of which patients and their families have been burdened by hefty bills,” the letter added.
Meanwhile, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is currently undertaking phase 2 of its serological survey in the M West, F North and R North wards to determine the percentage of the population that may have caught the virus and developed antibodies to fight it off. This exercise will also give the authorities an excellent idea of how far and wide the virus has spread under the radar.
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