1,553 new Covid-19 cases in Maharashtra, lowest since May 2020

Maharashtra on Saturday recorded 1,553 Covid-19 new cases with 26 deaths, which is the lowest one-day figure reported over the past 17 months.

Maharashtra on Saturday recorded 1,553 Covid-19 new cases with 26 deaths, which is the lowest one-day figure reported over the past 17 months.

Maharashtra on Saturday recorded 1,553 Covid-19 new cases with 26 deaths, which is the lowest one-day figure reported over the past 17 months. (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT Photo)

On May 16, 2020, Maharashtra recorded 1,606 cases, the highest single-day spike until then, with 11,347 tests, giving a test positivity rate of 14.15%. On Saturday, Maharashtra conducted 100,944 tests, giving a positivity rate of 1.54%. Maharashtra’s overall positivity at present is 10.82%.

“The low numbers could be because of the fewer tests carried out due to the Dusshera holiday on Friday,” said Dr Shashank Joshi, member of the Covid-19 task force of Maharashtra.

“We typically see a drop after weekends too. There is definitely a gradual decline in the number of cases, but it is always advisable to look at the weekly trends and the test positivity rate,” he said.

According to Joshi, the next weeks are crucial because of the upcoming Diwali festivities. “People have to remain cautious and follow Covid-appropriate behaviour in order to avoid a post-Diwali spike,” he said.

Experts say that we may see a sudden spike any time a newer variant of the virus strikes. Joshi said that he anticipated the third wave sometime between December and January.

The declining Covid numbers have led to reduced hospitalisations too. The civic-run 1850 bed Seven Hills Hospital has been working with 30% occupancy since mid-September. “We are now functioning more like a referral centre and patients are being transferred to us from other hospitals,” said Maharudra Kumbhar from Seven Hills Hospital.

The state’s case tally has now reached 6,589,982, while the toll stands at 1,39,760. Pune leads with 19,534 deaths, followed by Mumbai with 16,180 and Thane with 11,401. There are currently 29,627 active patients across the state, of which Pune tops with 8,089 patients, followed by Mumbai with 6,056 active patients and Thane with 3,943.

State surveillance officer Dr Pradeep Awate said the figures have declined due to vaccinations and medication.

“We have been very proactively taking steps to rein in the virus as well as undertaking mass vaccinations. This has paid rich dividends in the form of reduction in cases,” said Dr Awate.

Dr SN Mehra, medical director, Masina Hospital, said it appears that the second wave is almost controlled. “We hardly get any Covid-19 patients in our hospital. This is in sharp contrast as in May-June this year, our entire wards were filled with Covid-19 patients,” said Dr Mehra.

Meanwhile, Mumbai on Saturday reported 319 Covid-19 cases, the lowest single-day spike seen in October so far. This is also the second time in October that the city has reported cases below 400 in a day.

On October 4, Mumbai reported 339 cases. On other days of this month, Mumbai has reported over 400 cases, and an overage of over 500 cases each day. On October 6, Mumbai reported 624 Covid-19 cases, the highest single-day spike in over 2.5 months.

On Friday, BMC conducted 33,002 Covid-19 tests. These are slightly lower in number, in comparison to the number of tests conducted on an average daily in October — 39,000-40,000 tests. The positivity rate for Saturday was 0.9%.

Authorities said the lower number of tests can be attributed to the festival celebrations of Dussehra on Friday.

There were 499,448 vaccine doses administered on Saturday, bringing the total number of doses to 91,280,897.