BMC fudging Covid deaths said: Devendra Fadnavis

Mumbai: Opposition leader in the Assembly Devendra Fadnavis has accused the BMC of hijacking the Covid-19 death toll in Mumbai and covering the window. The civic body denied the allegations, saying the infection rate was unfounded and inconsistent with the facts.  According to BMC, the statistics on the incidence of Covid infection in Mumbai are transparent as per the criteria set by the World Health Organization and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). 

The BMC said that the municipal government has made no effort to cover up or underestimate the rates of Covid cases in Mumbai and regularly provide all information to the government.  "From January to April 2021, the Covid infection death rate averaged 0.71 percent, including other Covid deaths during this period, 0.98 percent, down from one percent," BMC said in a statement.  According to the report, the number of Tests in Mumbai has not been declining but has been steadily increasing throughout the year. 

In January 2021, there were 4,44,783 lakh Tests in January, 254 Tests in February 4,76, 210 Tests in March 8,38 and 13.31,697 Tests in April.  A total of 59,18,815 tests were conducted in Mumbai between May 2020 and May 7, 2021, according to BMC.  It also denied allegations that it was covering up the infection rate by reducing the number of antigen tests and the amount of RTPCR.  The civic body said the government had certified the reliability of the RTPCR and antigen tests.