Maharashtra breaches grim mark of 100,000 Covid-19 deaths

In India, the gap between the state with the most fatalities and the second-most affected state is 68,800 fatalities. Karnataka, as per the data of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, ranks second with 31,260 fatalities.

Maharashtra on Sunday went past the grim mark of 100,000 Covid-19 fatalities, 15 months (447 days) after it recorded its first death due to the virus on March 17, 2020. Maharashtra, which added 618 deaths (including 385 as part of reconciliation of figures) to its tally on Sunday, contributes nearly 29% (28.87%) to the country’s Covid-19 fatality count .

The state breached the 10,000-mark in Covid-19 fatalities on July 11, 2020 (see box), and went on to cross an additional 10,000 every month till it crossed the 40,000-mark on October 10, 2020. (AP)

If Maharashtra were a country, it would have ranked 10th in the world, just after France (109,973 deaths) and before Colombia (91,422), in terms of Covid-19 deaths, according to data collated by worldometer. The United States of America (612,209) tops the list of fatalities, followed by Brazil (472,629). India ranks third (346,784).

In India, the gap between the state with the most fatalities and the second-most affected state is 68,800 fatalities. Karnataka, as per the data of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, ranks second with 31,260 fatalities.

The state breached the 10,000-mark in Covid-19 fatalities on July 11, 2020 (see box), and went on to cross an additional 10,000 every month till it crossed the 40,000-mark on October 10, 2020. As the first wave receded, the deaths were fewer between October and January.

It took 91 days to go from 40,000 to 50,000 deaths, which happened on January 9, 2021. Subsequently, it took 99 days to cross the 60,000 mark. In the past 50 days alone, the state had added nearly 40,000 deaths. On April 18, the state breached the 60,000 mark in Covid deaths. Since then, it has added 39,657 fatalities. State bureaucrats, officials and experts attributed the high number of deaths to more Covid-19 cases and transparent reporting of data.

Officials added that lack of treatment protocol, logistics issues have also contributed to some of the deaths in both the waves.

Dr Avinash Supe, chairman of the state’s death audit committee, said that in the first 10 months (between March and December 2020) of the pandemic, Maharashtra saw nearly 50,000 deaths. In the next five months, the state added over 50,000 deaths due to Covid-19. Between March 8, 2020, when the first case was reported, and December 31, 2020, the state saw 49,521 deaths. Since January 1, the state has added 50,609 deaths.

“If you see the pattern of the deaths, it was really high, percentage-wise, in April, May, June [2020], as we were not very prepared. Patients were dying on arrival. In the second wave, we have seen double the patients we saw in the first wave,” he said.

“In 2020, we had 19 lakh cases, now (this year) we have nearly 40 lakh cases. Nearly 50,000 deaths happened in the first year. Among the 40 lakh cases, we had an equal number of deaths. So, it is important to see that even after cases doubled, the fatalities remained the same. However, the deaths in this year have come in a shorter time,” Dr Supe added.

A senior bureaucrat, who did not wish to be named, added, “Initially, many patients died of comorbidities in the hospital on arrival or in 24-48 hours. When they were tested, they were found to be positive [for coronavirus]. We have included such cases in our tally as well. We have remained transparent in reporting deaths and cases.” N Ramaswami, commissioner of health services (Maharashtra), said one cannot look at the absolute numbers. “Definitely we have a high number of deaths, but one can’t see the absolute numbers. We have higher deaths because we have more cases. However, our CFR is very much under control,” he said.

Despite having a set treatment protocol, acceptability among people about the disease, and medical infrastructure, the state saw over 50,000 deaths in 2021. Health experts attributed it to virus mutation, late arrival at the hospital and logistical issues. “Mainly patients have died after being admitted to ICUs. Of course, logistics issues, including people not getting beds [at the hospital], delay in medicines and oxygen, could have contributed to the deaths. However, the overall mortality rate has gone down. This year, the CFR is 1.2%, which was 2.3% in 2020,” Dr Supe said.

The second Covid-19 wave hit the rural and semi-urban districts in Maharashtra the hardest with a sharp increase in the number of deaths as compared to the first wave. Sindhudurg, Nandurbar, Beed, Parbhani, Nanded, Amravati, Yavatmal, Chandrapur, Washim and Gadchiroli saw the number of deaths double from the first to the second wave. In contrast, in Mumbai, Pune, Thane, the number of deaths has reduced by half despite a massive surge in infections in the second wave.

The senior bureaucrat further added that the state administration has worked to supplement the primary and secondary infrastructure in the tier two cities and rural areas. “While most of our cities and other major towns are prepared for the possible third wave. These areas have been looked into to strengthen its medical infrastructure, training people, etc,” he said.

Meanwhile, as Maharashtra is moving towards gradual unlocking from Monday depending on set parameters, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray held a virtual meeting with district collectors and municipal commissioners and directed them not to relax any restriction by buckling under pressure from anybody. Thackeray during the meeting reiterated that the state is not fully lifting its lockdown-like restrictions and the parameters set for allowing activities must be followed by the administration.

Thackeray directed the administration that there should not be any crowding in places where restrictions would be relaxed as it would be an invitation to the third wave. Thackeray, while cautioning them, said that the district and city administration should consider and review all the factors before allowing relaxations. Thackeray pointed out that last year had witnessed an increase in cases after the festive season. “Secondly, mutation of viruses led to spreading of more infection. Hence, we should take more care this time, else the third wave of Covid would be challenging for us,” said Thackeray.