20,324 Covid-19 deaths in Maharashtra in May, 7,332 in June

While the state saw 20,324 Covid deaths in May, the number declined to 7,332 in June

While the state saw 20,324 Covid deaths in May, the number declined to 7,332 in June. Adding to the high death rate in May was the reconciliation process where 15,000 backlog deaths were added to the cumulative fatality rate from May 1 onwards. The government authorities have called it a case of delayed reporting rather than underreporting or misreporting of facts.

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Dr Subhash Salunkhe, advisor, state government on Covid-19 management, attributed it to the decline in new cases. “The death rates correspond directly to the number of cases and since June had fewer cases, we saw a decline in deaths,” said Dr Salunkhe. “In May, the high number of cases resulted in shortage of hospital beds and oxygen supply. This also raised the number of deaths. However in June, the situation improved significantly,” he added.

April-May was one of the toughest phases in the Covid battle for the state, as there was acute shortage of hospital beds, Remdesivir injections and chaos all around.

Dr Wiqar Shaikh, professor of medicine, Grant Medical College and Sir JJ Hospital, blamed the authorities for the spike in deaths. “When the cases started declining last September, the authorities should have beefed up the medical infrastructure in both rural and urban areas. The history of pandemics like cholera, influenza and measles has all shown multiple waves and they should have prepared themselves. These deaths have happened due to their short sightedness,” rued Shaikh.

On Friday, there were 116,867 active cases in the state. Pune topped with 17,013 active cases, followed by Thane with 16,339 active cases. In terms of Covid fatalities, Pune leads with 16,823 deaths followed by Mumbai with 15,499 deaths. On Saturday, 377,698 vaccine doses were administered to the citizens. Many parts of the state resumed their vaccination after three days.

In view of the upcoming Bakri Eid on July 20, the state has come out with rules which banned all religious functions and asked people to offer namaz in homes and not in mosques. It also said sacrificial animals should be bought online or over the phone as markets dealing with them will be closed. It has also asked devotees to keep qurbani (sacrifice) symbolic. It asked people not to congregate in public places on the day of the festival.