FAQ | Mumbai Sees Spike in COVID Cases: Are Masks Mandatory? What's Govt Saying?

The the active caseload in Mumbai is 4,880, with the city also recording a COVID death in the past 24 hours.

Biological E Limited on Saturday, 4 June, announced that its COVID-19 vaccine Corbevax has been approved by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) as a heterologous booster dose. Image used for representation.

File Photo: IANS

The city of Mumbai on Sunday, 5 June, reported 961 new Covid-19 cases, as it continues to witness a surge in cases, according to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

The addition took the active caseload in Mumbai to 4,880, with the city also recording a COVID death in the past 24 hours.

What are the authorities saying? What do numbers indicate? Here's all you need to know.

Is wearing of masks mandatory in Maharashtra?

No, not yet. Amid spike in cases, Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope appealed to citizens to wear masks in crowded places.

“The Covid-19 task force met this week and it was decided to appeal to the citizens to use masks both in crowded places as well as closed places like buses, trains, schools and offices. This is an appeal and we have not made masks compulsory till now,” Tope said, addressing the press in Pune.

Will the Maharashtra government make masks mandatory again?

The government may, if cases continue to rise, said Maharashtra Minister Aaditya Thackeray to news agency ANI.

“We are asking everyone to wear masks when stepping outdoors. We have not made wearing masks mandatory but will make it soon. I also appeal to the public to receive the booster dose of the vaccine on time,” he said.

Which areas are seeing a surge in Maharashtra?

• Mumbai Metropolitan Region

• Thane

• Palghar

• Raigad

What do numbers indicate?

Mumbai accounts to 60 percent of cases from Maharashtra – with the city recording 4,618 cases in the first five days of June. This is 50 percent more than than the state's total tally in May – with 9,185 cases being recorded.

The state recorded the highest tally in three months on 4 June, with 1,357 fresh cases. 899 of these cases were from Mumbai.

Two people have died from COVID in the first five days of June.

Do we know which sub-type of Omicron is causing this spike?

No, not yet. Watch out this space for more information.

What precautions has the BMC taken?

The BMC on Friday, 6 June, said that it has asked local authorities to ramp up testing, holding testing camps in housing socities, and equip war rooms once again.

The BMC is also reportedly setting up a system to avail statistics of tests performed by self-testing kits in the city.

The corporation has also directed laboratories to share the positive reports with them, and theu will infor, the patients.