Maharashtra goes past 97,000 Covid fatalities

Maharashtra on Thursday went past 97,000 fatalities due to Covid-19, with 307 fresh deaths pushing the toll to 97,394

Maharashtra on Thursday went past 97,000 fatalities due to Covid-19, with 307 fresh deaths pushing the toll to 97,394. The state also added 15,229 fresh Covid-19 cases, pushing the tally to 5,791,413. The active caseload of the state dropped to 204,974; the positivity rate was 5.86% on Thursday, while the overall positivity rate was 16.19%.

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Mumbai, meanwhile, continued to report under 1,000-cases for the fourth consecutive day on Thursday. It saw 985 cases and 27 deaths, taking the respective tallies to 708,026 and 14,907. Of the fatalities reported in the state on Thursday, 228 occurred in the past 48 hours and 79 in the last week. The state also added 336 deaths to the state’s cumulative tally as part of the data reconciliation.

The second wave in the state has been deadly for the state, as it has recorded 45,240 fatalities between March 1 and Thursday. However, state health department officials said the death rate has been lower in the second wave. The absolute number of deaths reported, however, has been high. In March 2021, the state recorded 2,495 deaths, which climbed to 14,164 in April, and 26,531 in May.

“The case fatality rate (CFR) was over 3% in July and August, which dropped to 2.65 in September, when Maharashtra achieved its peak in the first wave. The CFR was 1.94% on March 31, 1.5% on April 30 and 1.66% on May 31. Although the number of deaths occurring during the second wave was higher, the positive aspect is the deaths did not rise to the level of the rise in cases,” said a senior health department official, requesting anonymity.

State surveillance officer Dr Pradeep Awate said Maharashtra is now in a declining state in the second wave. “We have been witnessing a downward trajectory of the curve now for the past few days,” he said. However, some districts still continue to show high daily cases and a slight increase in the number of cases.

As per the health department data, many districts, including Raigad, Ratnagiri, Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur and Pune, still have a weekly positivity rate between 14% and 18%. Raigad, Ratnagiri and Satara have double the weekly positivity rate of the state (8.48%), with 18.59%, 17.32% and 16.73% weekly positivity rate, respectively. The weekly growth rate in high in Sindhudurg district was 2.2%, while the state’s weekly growth rate is 0.34%. Kolhapur district’s weekly growth rate was 1.74%, while Ratnagiri’s 1.36% and Satara’s was 1.29%.

“The high number of cases in four-five districts is not a major concern. The viral activity is high in these pockets but not out of control. The set protocol and procedures are being followed and as the incubation period finishes, we will see stabilising, and eventually, a declining curve in these parts,” the official said.

Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts added 534 and 620 fresh cases on Thursday. Satara district added 1,463 new cases, while Kolhapur district added 1,436 cases. Ahmednagar saw 1,134 cases on Thursday and Solapur district added 603 new cases.