Maharashtra reports over 16,000 new Covid-19 cases

The last time Maharashtra crossed the 16,000-mark was on October 1 with 16,476 cases. It also breached the 2.3 million mark for total cases as the count reached 2,314,413. The active cases in the state climbed to 126,213.

After clocking over 15,000 Covid-19 cases on each of the past two days, Maharashtra breached the 16,000 mark to record a 164-day high with 16,620 fresh infections on Sunday.

Mumbai recorded a 150-day high on Sunday with nearly 2,000 fresh cases in a day. (Parveen Kumar/HT Photo)

The last time Maharashtra crossed the 16,000-mark was on October 1 with 16,476 cases. It also breached the 2.3 million mark for total cases as the count reached 2,314,413. The active cases in the state climbed to 126,213.

Health experts said that Maharashtra could witness daily highs till April 15, but is unlikely to cross the peak it achieved in September 2020.

Maharashtra also crossed 100,000 tests in a day after September 27, 2020. The state tested 108,381 samples in the past 24 hours and had a positivity rate of 14.41%.

Mumbai recorded a 150-day high on Sunday with nearly 2,000 fresh cases in a day.

The city’s tally increased to 343,962 with 1,963 fresh infections—its highest since October 15 when it had recorded 2,119 cases. Mumbai’s active case count was 12,535.

Maharashtra added 50 fatalities on Sunday, taking the death toll to 52,861. Mumbai added seven fatalities, taking its tally to 11535.

As Covid-19 cases are constantly on the rise, the state government is contemplating putting stricter localised restrictions in areas where cases are on the rise. Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray is expected to convene a meeting of district collectors and municipal commissioners to take stock of the situation and to take decision on restrictions early this week, a senior government official said.

Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, who is also the guardian minister of Pune district, took a review of the rising cases in the district. He expressed concern over the surge in the cases in the urban and rural areas of the district. Pune district on Sunday saw 3,259 fresh cases and 11 deaths due to coronavirus disease. Pune city reported 1,780 new cases, while its rural areas saw 673 new cases. Pimpri-Chinchwad reported 806 new cases. Pune district tops in the state with highest active case count at 25,673.

Pawar said that the number of Covid patients are increasing rapidly in Pune district as well as in Baramati taluka. He noted that some citizens are not wearing masks. “The administration should take concrete measures against crowds in the market places. Everyone needs to be careful that public places as well as other places are not crowded and safe distances are maintained,” he said, according to a statement from Directorate General of Information and Public Relations (DGIPR).

Dr Subhash Salunkhe, state advisor on Covid-19 and former director-general of health services, said that strict measures need to be adopted by the state government to control the rising number of cases. He added that the state could see highs for at least next one month.

“Looking at the pattern and the incubation period, we could see such high numbers till April 15. During this period, two things need to be strictly carried out — more vaccination and strong testing drive... There is an absolute need for active intervention in the form of localised restrictions to start with, including no congregation, no crowding in restaurants, weddings, etc. Authorities should keep a check on positive patients in home quarantine as well to ensure it is not being flouted,” he said.

Salunkhe blamed the “careless” and “carefree” attitude of the people for the spike in numbers. “People are behaving unintelligently. People in Mumbai and Pune are carefree and careless; I see them going to pubs and restaurants.”

The rise in cases has been reported both from rural and urban areas of the state. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) reported 1,713 fresh cases (excluding Mumbai) on Sunday with Kalyan-Dombivli adding 417 new cases followed by Thane city adding 356 new cases. Nashik city reported 946 new cases, while its rural areas saw 329 fresh cases. While Aurangabad city reported 752 and its rural areas reported 151 new cases. Ahmednagar, Jalgaon, Dhule, Satara districts reported 436, 584, 242 and 150 fresh cases, respectively.

Marathwada and Vidarbha regions, too, have reported a chunk of the cases.