Covid-19: Maharashtra’s active case tally continues to drop

The number of recovered patients over the past eight days is at the daily average of 6,495 which is more than fresh infections, according to the state health department statement

The number of active Covid-19 cases in Maharashtra dropped to be lowest in the past five months on Tuesday. On the day, there were 73,374 active cases, which is a gradual fall from 301,752 cases on September 17, the highest that the state has reported.

A health worker collects a sample for Covid-19 test, at a market in Mumbai. (File photo)

The daily caseload has stabilised over the past few weeks with around 5,000 daily cases. The number of recovered patients over the past eight days is at the daily average of 6,495 which is more than fresh infections, according to the state health department statement. This has helped the authorities in reducing the number of patients admitted to the Covid-19 facilities.

Maharashtra reported its highest daily caseload of 24,619 on September 17 with highest active cases on the same day. Since then, the number of daily infections and active cases has seen a gradual drop. The state had reported 73,298 active cases -- almost the same as the current level -- on June 29, after which the number kept rising. On November 7, the number dropped below 100,000 cases.

High population density districts like Mumbai, Pune, and Thane account for the highest number of active patients. Currently, Pune has 15,344 active cases followed by 14,039 in Thane and 12,231 in Mumbai.

The drop in the number of active cases has been reported when the state authorities are still expecting the potential second wave in January after a drop in the winter temperature. “We have been augmenting our health infrastructure to be prepared to take up additional burden of the cases in case of a spike. The current dip in the active cases has helped us ease the burden on the health machinery,” said an official from the health department.

Meanwhile, 10% of the active cases in the state are reported to be critical. As on December 2, as many as 9,937 cases were critical with the number of active cases being 90,557 on the day.

“It is a good sign that the daily caseload has dropped below 5,000 from around 24,000 cases mid-September. But the state authorities need to go for aggressive tracing of the suspected contacts...that’s where the machinery is lagging, according to our observations. These contacts keep spreading the virus to others rapidly. Tracing and testing should not be compromised even though the number of cases has been witnessing a fall,” said Dr Avinash Bhondwe, state president, Indian Medical Association.