Maharashtra records 9,677 new Covid-19 cases while daily deaths drop to 156; fresh infections in Mumbai fall to 693

The state has been witnessing an upward swing of cases in the last few days which experts opine might have been caused by the emergence of the delta plus variant

Maharashtra recorded 9,677 number of fresh cases of Covid-19 on Friday, taking the state's total tally of cases to 60,17,035. In the last 24 hours 156 fatalities were also recorded, the death toll now stands at 1,20,370. 10,138 number of people have made a full recovery and the total number of recoveries now stands at 57,72,799.

2,36,034 number of tests were conducted in the previous 24 hours. (PTI Photo/Shashank Parade) (PTI)

The state has been witnessing an upward swing of cases in the last few days which experts opine might have been caused by the emergence of the delta plus variant. Friday's tally marks a decrease from the number of cases recorded just a day before. After recording 10,107 cases on June 16 the state had started to witness a reduction in the number of cases, reporting below 10,000 cases for a number of days straight.

2,36,034 number of tests were conducted in the previous 24 hours, marking an increase from the 2,32,576 tests conducted a day before.

The Maharashtra government imposed stricter Covid-19 norms on Friday by reducing the five-level relaxation plan to three. The first two levels containing maximum relaxations have been removed till further order. The districts or municipal corporations with a weekly positivity rate between 5-10% or with oxygen bed occupancy of over 40% will be classified under level 3, the state said in a notification.

So far 21 cases of the delta plus variant have been recorded in the districts of Ratnagiri, seven in Jalgaon, Mumbai, Thane, Palghar, and Sindhudurg. Authorities have been asked to not let their guard down and expedite the vaccination drive.