Maha asks districts to remain alert amid global surge in Covid-19 cases

Health Minister Rajesh Tope on Saturday said that countries like China and South Korea are now experiencing the fourth wave.

Mumbai: Even as Maharashtra has reported a steep fall in the number of Covid-19 cases and deaths over the last month, the authorities have advised the district collectorates to be on alert amid surges in cases in several countries around the globe.

Several health experts, including the Maharashtra Covid-19 task force, have also recommended being on alert but avoiding panic. (Sunil Ghosh / HT PHOTO)

According to the data released by the state health department, between February 1 and 19, the state reported 1,21,513 cases and over 800 deaths. However, in the same period in March, the figures dropped to as low as 5,920 cases and 60 deaths.

A similar trend was noticed in Mumbai where 8,000 cases were logged between February 1 and 19. The city saw just 982 cases and two deaths till March 19.

However, the state government has taken a cautious stand on the situation.

Health Minister Rajesh Tope on Saturday said that countries like China and South Korea are now experiencing the fourth wave. The Central government is closely watching the situation and the state will accordingly issue fresh guidelines, he said.

Earlier, on March 17, 2022, the Maharashtra Health Department had issued a circular asking all districts to remain on alert. The circular issued by Dr Pradeep Vyas, additional chief secretary of the public health department had stated that the situation may dramatically change in the next few weeks.

The circular was issued in the backdrop of some new variants of Covid-19 suspected to be fuelling the infection in Israel and other countries.

On Sunday, the state reported 113 cases taking the tally to 78,72,413 and one death pushed the toll to 1,43,767. There are 1,354 active cases in the state.

Mumbai reported 26 cases on Sunday taking the tally to 10,56,639, while the death toll remained at 16,993 with no addition. There are 298 active cases in the city and the hospitalisation rate is 0.2%.

Meanwhile, according to the data, the state has reported more than 7.8 million cases of Covid-19 in the last two years after the first case of Covid-19 was reported on March 9, 2022. Of this, 13% or more than one million cases are from Mumbai.