Mumbai, Dec 5 (IANS): The Covid-19 positivity rate in Mumbai has fallen to just 5 per cent, the lowest in the past 10 months since the outbreak of the pandemic, a top BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) official said here on Saturday.

"The Covid-19 test positivity rate for the past 10 days in Mumbai looks promising. But we should not be complacent and not lower our guard," said Municipal Commissioner I.S. Chahal.

When the pandemic hit Maharashtra in full force in March, the positivity rate was as high as 35-36 per cent, he said in a statement.

On Friday, of the 16,394 tests conducted in the city, only 825 - or 5.03 per cent - returned positive, boosting the morale of the health authorities.

The 16,394 tests comprised 8,867 RT-PCR and 7,527 Rapid Antigen Tests of which 684 and 141 tested positive, respectively, informed Chahal.

The Mumbai city and the district still remain in the top position on the country's Covid-19 graph in terms of fatalities - reporting 10,945 deaths so far, besides registering 284,509 cases till date, of which 13,754 are active cases.

Since the outbreak of the viral pandemic, the BMC has earned laurels both domestically and from overseas for its handling of the corona pandemic in congested areas including the most vulnerable Dharavi slum, particularly during the peak in July-September.