Maharashtra adds 22,122 new Covid cases; Mumbai's daily tally continues to fall

This is the fifth successive day that the daily cases in Maharashtra remained below the 30,000-mark. Over 42,000 (42,320 to be exact) people recovered on Monday and the cumulative recoveries in the state have climbed to 5,182,592 , the bulletin showed.

Maharashtra on Monday reported 22,122 new cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) and 361 more deaths, taking the caseload and death toll to 5,602,019 and 89,212 respectively, according to the state health department’s bulletin. This is the fifth successive day that the daily cases in Maharashtra remained below the 30,000-mark.

Passengers wait at a temperature checkpoint after arriving at Pune railway station during lockdown restrictions imposed by the Maharashtra government. (Bloomberg)

Over 42,000 (42,320 to be exact) people recovered on Monday and the cumulative recoveries in the state have climbed to 5,182,592 , the bulletin showed.

Monday’s case count in Maharashtra is less 4,550 than that of Sunday’s when 26,672 people were detected Covid positive.

The capital city of Mumbai also continued to witness a downward trend in its daily tally as 1,049 new cases and 48 more deaths were logged. Mumbai now has 697,959 cases of the Covid-19 disease which includes 14,613 deaths.

The coronavirus situation in Maharashtra is improving with each passing day. The major credit for this improvement can be given to the lockdown-like restrictions-- which have been extended till June 1-- and the people’s adherence to them.

The Maha-Vikas Aghadi led government has indicated these restrictions will not be further extended and will be eased in a staggered manner, according to Hindustan Times on Sunday.

Even though the number of Covid-19 infections are falling in Maharashtra, the state is staring at a huge spike in the cases of Mucormycosis or black fungus. Union health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said on Monday that Maharashtra has 1,188 cases of the black fungus, the highest in India till now.

On May 20, Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope requested the Centre to approve allocation of Amphotericin B injections-- used for treating black fungus patients-- as 300-400 people were getting infected on a weekly basis.

Over 20.7 million beneficiaries have been administered vaccine doses against Covid-19 in the state till now of which 16,370,365 have been given the first dose and nearly 4.4 million have been given both doses.

Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray announced on Sunday that vaccination for the 18-44 age group has been suspended due to a shortage in supply of doses. However, Thackeray said that from June the vaccine production will speed up and therefore, the state government can operate a round-the-clock vaccination drive.