Things getting better in Mumbai, all for reopening the city: BMC chief
He cautioned, however, that things are "different" in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and the high number of cases there is a "cause for worry".
July 30, 2020 / 06:56 PM IST
Things are getting better in Mumbai and the financial capital is in a position where everything can be opened up, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) chief Iqbal Chahal said in an interview with news channel CNBC-TV18.
"Active cases in Mumbai have decreased to 20,000 as on July 30. The doubling days have increased to 72 days from 41 on June 30. We have only 5,000 symptomatic patients (in Mumbai) today," Chahal said, adding that he is "all for reopening Mumbai".
"We are in a position where we can open up everything in Mumbai region... All 4,000 BEST buses are on the road and running at full capacity. We want to reassure... that we are comfortable in fight against COVID-19," the civic body chief said, adding that the city's administration is "very well prepared" even if there is a second wave of infections in the city.
"We should bury the word lockdown. We don't want to come back to lockdown ever again," Chahal told the news channel. He cautioned, however, that things are "different" in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and the high number of cases there is a "cause for worry".
Regarding the sero-survey, Chahal said that the virus has now moved from "slums to buildings" and that 57 percent of the population living in slums was found to have COVID-19 antibodies.
Chahal, however, added that the city is entering a "new Coronavirus normal" and that people need to be "socially disciplined".