Third wave has started in Mumbai; hospitalisation rate low: Maha COVID task force member

Joshi, however, asked people not to panic and only be cautious. He advised people to avoid congregation of people and events such as weddings and parties.

"We can see that outbreaks take place in gatherings," Joshi said.

On genome testing, he said that every sample is not being sent for it as it is time consuming and expensive.

On booster programme, Joshi said that once it starts, people should get it on time.

"Simple medical strategies are needed to micro contain outbreak. Here is a concern that pediatric pool may be affected. So, we need to sensitize people to be cautious within pediatric group, especially those with co-morbidities," Joshi further mentioned.

"Explosive rise can be seen in cases in future," he added.

Meanwhile, the number of people detected with the Omicron variant of COVID-19 increased by 33 in Mumbai to reach 118 on Wednesday, a civic official was quoted as saying in PTI report.

The reports from the National Institute of Virology arrived during the day, and of the 33 cases, 31 were detected at the airport and two through surveillance activity, a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation statement informed.

A total of 19 Omicron patients in Mumbai have no travel history, comprising two from A ward, two from D ward, one from G-North ward, two from G-South ward, two from H-East ward, two from M-West, two from N ward, one from R-North, three from S-Ward, and two from T-ward, it said. Of these 19, three have mild symptoms, and 16 are asymptomatic, it said, adding that eight are fully vaccinated.