The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation started an intensive testing drive on Monday at public places like malls, ST bus depots, markets, etc.
On Saturday, the civic body had set a target of 47,000 tests daily. The response on Day One was moderate as there weren’t that many people in the malls, it being a Monday, and those who turned up were not willing to pay.
THE G North ward office conducted testing at Senapati Bapat Marg outside Dadar station. People without masks were asked to get tested. Out of 68 citizens and hawkers, seven were positive.
Assistant Municipal Commissioner Kiran Dighavkar said they were isolated in institutional or home quarantine based on their living conditions.
At a mall located in the P South ward, tests were conducted randomly; not everyone who visited the mall had to undergo tests.
In a mall in R South, many visitors reluctant to pay for the test returned home. Also, not all malls had the testing facility and said it would begin on Tuesday.
Assistant Municipal Commissioner Manish Valanju said, “We have been conducting antigen tests at LTT for inbound trains since November. There is no resistance there. People at the ST depot also cooperated. But those at malls returned after seeing the antigen test camp.” Around 20 to 25 per cent of the people refuse to get tested.
The BMC has set a target of 47,000 tests daily, with a target of at least 400 tests at each of the 27 malls covered under the drive, 1,000 at railway stations for inbound trains. Currently, around 6,000 rapid antigen tests (RAT) and 17,000 RT-PCR tests are conducted daily.
The guidelines for the testing in crowded places had been released on Saturday.
Surjitt Sahani
