Maharashtra reports 56,286 new Covid-19 cases, 376 deaths

Case tally stands at 3,229,547 and toll at 57,028. Active cases in the state have touched 521,317 while cumulative case fatality rate stands at 1.76%.

Maharashtra on Thursday reported 56,286 new Covid-19 cases and 376 deaths, taking the tally to 3,229,547 and toll to 57,028. Active cases in the state have touched 521,317 while cumulative case fatality rate stands at 1.76%. On Wednesday, Maharashtra conducted a total of 236,815 tests, with a positivity rate of 23% for the day.

People stand in queue to buy Remdesivir in Pune on Thursday. (Pratham Gokhale/HT Photo)

The number of active Covid-19 cases in Maharashtra is likely to cross the 1,100,000 mark by April 30, if adequate measures, such as imposing restrictions on movement or business, are not imposed to control the spread of the virus, according to the state health department. This is being considered as the second wave in the state which began around February 11.

On Wednesday, Pradeep Vyas, principal secretary of the state health department said, “Now, we are recording more cases than we predicted. The state has already recorded 50% more active cases during this wave, in comparison to its previous wave in September 2020. If cases increase in this proportion, by April 17 we will have around 568,000 active cases.”

To streamline availability of beds for needy Covid-19 patients, health minister Rajesh Tope on Wednesday directed all district collectors and municipal commissioners to adopt Mumbai’s model of centralised bed allotment. In the state, 80.51% Covid-19 beds, 32.77% oxygen beds, and 60.95% ICU beds are occupied.

While there is a shortage of vaccine vials, Tope on Wednesday said that the state has requested the Centre to allow vaccination of all citizens in the age group of 18 to 45 years, as maximum cases in this wave are being recorded from this age group. This is also the working population which steps out of their homes daily despite recent lockdown-like restrictions in the state.

So far, a total of 8,081,358 beneficiaries have received the first dose of vaccine shots across Maharashtra and 874,560 have received their second shot.

Mumbai on Thursday reported 8,938 Covid-19 cases and 25 deaths, taking the total number of cases to 491,980 and toll to 11,881.

Dr Shashank Joshi, member of the state Covid task force, on Wednesday said, “The second wave has a significant number of cases of the new strain of the virus which is also affecting more children and young people. The state needs to take all precautions to break the chain of the virus.”