As Maha reports 2,401 fresh Covid infections, Ahmednagar continues to be a cause of concern

Maha recorded 2,401 fresh Covid infections pushing the count to 6,564,915 on Tuesday. The tally of active cases further reduced to 33,159 as 2,840 recoveries were reported in the last 24 hours.

Maharashtra recorded 2,401 fresh infections pushing the count to 6,564,915 on Tuesday. The tally of active cases further reduced to 33,159 as 2,840 recoveries were reported in the last 24 hours.

The tally of active cases further reduced to 33,159 as 2,840 recoveries were reported in the last 24 hours. (Satish Bate/HT PHOTO)

It also saw 39 casualties and the total number of fatalities stood at 139,272. Ahmednagar reported the highest toll with 10 deaths as its tally stood at 6,894.

Covid-19 situation in Maharashtra is under control as the average daily cases are on decline for the past few months. The drop in active cases has also been constant for the past two weeks. It has reached its lowest tally since February 5 when 33,936 cases were reported.

However, districts such as Ahmednagar continue to be a cause for concern for the state as it has been reporting 400 to 500 cases a day. On Tuesday, it clocked 397 cases comprising both district 383 cases and city 14 cases, which is also the second highest in the state after Mumbai. In the past five days, it has clocked 2,277 cases and its average daily cases recorded at 455. The weekly positivity rate of the district is less than 5%. Last week, it was recorded at 4.28%, which was also highest among all other districts of the state.

To bring the situation under control, the district administration has imposed a 10-day lockdown in 61 villages of the district starting from Monday (October 04). As per the fresh order, all shops, except essential ones will remain shut till October 13, while assembly of more than five people has also been prohibited in these villages. Even though the state has allowed physical classes in schools for limited classes, they will not open in the 61 villages of the district until October 13 at least.

Rajendra Bhosale, district collector, said it is a precautionary step to ensure there will not be any spike in the cases. “The daily cases are more concerning for us even though they have become stable. As a precautionary step, I decided to impose a ten-day lockdown in the villages from where most of the cases were coming,” he said.

Bhosale, however, said that they have ramped up daily testing and consequently their daily cases are reporting high. “We are taking all precautionary measures and have stepped up the daily testing and the number of daily cases is high. We are conducting around 20,000 tests a day and are looking to increase it even further,” he added.

The lockdown in Ahmednagar district is likely to be further extended and the decision will be taken by the district administration after holding a review. “I will take a review of the Covid situation before October 13 and if required, the lockdown will be extended for some more days,” the district collector said.

Ahmednagar has reported a total 333,222 cases till date and has 4,280 active cases at present. This has impacted the bed occupancy rate of the district as only 30% beds are left vacant.

According to health experts, there was a delayed peak in the district and the state government is vigilant and alert because the daily cases there are persistently high. Dr Shashank Joshi, member of the state task force, said, “Definitely there is a delayed peak in Ahmednagar and it has persisted for some time. In contrast, daily cases in Kolhapur, Satara, Sangli and Pune have come down, whereas in Mumbai and Thane they are still high but their testing numbers are also reasonably high. We are very aggressively looking at any new variant coming up in Ahmednagar district.”

There are predictions that a potential third wave may hit the state by December or January next year. Officials are still worried about the upcoming festive season as there are chances of a spike in cases post Navratri, Dussehra and Diwali festivals that are falling in October and November.

From Monday, schools in urban areas were reopened for Class 8 to 12. In rural areas, physical classes have also been resumed for Class 5 to 7. Physical classes in schools were shut in Maharashtra from March 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic hit the state.

Apart from reopening physical classes in schools, all religious places will be reopened from October 7 and cinema halls, theatres and multiplexes from October 22.

With 427 cases, Mumbai reported the highest number of cases in the entire state and its tally reached a 746,079 cases. It also recorded two fatalities taking the toll to 16,129.

In the past 24 hours, the state tested 131,340 samples and had a positivity rate of 1.82%. However, the overall positivity rate of the state stood at 11.04%, according to the data issued by the state health department.

The state also vaccinated 427,782 doses on Tuesday and has administered a total 84,639,659 doses till date, according to the data available on Co-Win portal.