Testing to be increased as Covid-19 cases on the rise in Diva

In the last one week, the number of cases in Diva has been on the rise. However, only a team of 31 people are deployed to trace and track the number of positive cases here, as per the Thane Municipal Corporation data.

On the request of the residents, TMC has now agreed to conduct antigen testing within housing societies in Diva as well.

“Despite festivities, people were following the social distancing and isolation norms. However, since the Unlock Mission has started, we found huge crowds outside and people were also stepping out frequently. This may have led to the rise in cases this month. Moreover, unlike earlier, there are a few TMC officers visiting Diva nowadays to test or trace despite the rising number of cases,” said Adarsh Munde, 38, resident of Diva.

Since the onset of the virus, till last week of June, Diva saw less than 10 cases on a regular basis. A slight spike was noticed post August and containment zones were given special attention. The cases started dipping from August second week till first week of September. A spike is noticed again now. Diva currently has a 1.5 per cent growth rate of positive cases.

“We have initiated antigen testing in housing complexes in Diva. This will help us understand if there are any particular pockets that have a rising number of cases. This has been started with the aim to provide timely treatment and to be able to trace those with high risks,” said Dr Vipin Sharma, TMC commissioner.

In this initiative, the civic body is collaborating with committee members of housing complexes and providing testing facilities at the doorstep. In order to identify pockets with spike in cases or any trend, this initiative has been started by the civic body.

“Initially, along with Mumbra, we focused on Diva as well. We created awareness and extensive testing, included fever clinics as well to ensure detection rate was high. As the numbers decreased, our focus remained on the containment zones. With increased movement, there could be a rise in cases. So, we are taking different methods to ensure timely treatment and tracing of high-risk contacts,” said a senior TMC officer.