State sees massive surge with 18,466 new cases
In a massive surge that officials said is being driven by the Omicron strain of the virus, the number of Covid patients in Maharashtra rose to 18,466 on Tuesday from a lower 12,160 on the previous day
Mumbai In a massive surge that officials said is being driven by the Omicron strain of the virus, the number of Covid patients in Maharashtra rose to 18,466 on Tuesday from a lower 12,160 on the previous day.
The state also saw 20 deaths and 75 new Omicron cases. Of the new Omicron cases, 40 are from Mumbai, while nine are from Thane city and eight are from Pune.
Panvel makes up for five cases, followed by Kolhapur and Nagpur (three each), Pimpri Chinchwad (two) and Bhiwandi Nizampur, Ulhasnagar, Satara, Amravati and Navi Mumbai (one each). So far, a total of 653 patients infected with Omicron have been detected and out of these, 259 have been discharged after a negative RT-PCR test.
Mumbai tops the Omicron caseload at 408, followed by Thane at 71 and Pimpri Chinchwad at 38. The Omicron cases in Mumbai include 26 patients from outside Maharashtra, nine foreign nationals and those from other districts of the state.
Apart from Mumbai, a high number of Covid patients was also reported from cities in the larger Mumbai metropolitan agglomeration like Thane city (1,354), Navi Mumbai (1,116), Kalyan Dombivali (457), Panvel (584), Vasai Virar (450) and Mira Bhayender (455). Pune city too reported 1,113 cases.
“It seems that the Omicron strain is responsible as is evident from the rapid rise in the number of cases. This seems to be an Omicron driven surge… but the severity of the infection is mild, so the number of cases is not accompanied by a corresponding rise in hospitalisations,” said Dr Pradeep Awate, the state’s surveillance officer. He added that the spread of a mild variant could serve as a “blessing in disguise,” by ensuring herd immunity.
“But vulnerable people are at risk. This includes those suffering from diabetes, hypertension, cancer or are immunosuppressed due to medical treatment. We should develop a strategy of the focussed protection of the vulnerable population,” said Awate. Just around 10 per cent of the 66,308 active cases have been hospitalised. The state has around 2.75 lakh dedicated Covid beds, which can be increased in phases. Of these, 3.5 to 4 per cent are occupied. Similarly, of the 98,000 oxygen beds, only 2.12 per cent are occupied.
Health minister Rajesh Tope said that they expected the active caseload in Maharashtra to touch 80 lakh in the third wave. This wave is expected to peak in mid-February or the end of that month, after which the graph is expected to taper.
Meanwhile, Vijay Wadettiwar, minister for relief and rehabilitation, indicated that while some restrictions would be tightened considering the Covid surge, lockdown would be a last resort. He noted that around 13 ministers and 70 legislators had tested positive, and added that some restrictions on events like marriages had also been imposed.
2,49,834 teenagers jabbed
By 8:45 PM on Tuesday, around 2,49,834 beneficiaries in the 15-to-18-years age group were vaccinated. This was the second day of the vaccination drive for them. On Monday, 1,83,259 had been administered the Covid vaccine.