E-Paper
Remain vigilant: Maharashtra CM as Covid-19 positivity rate rises in rural areas
A central team visited Nagpur, Amravati, Akola and Yavatmal and pointed out that these areas have a high positivity rate, following which Uddhav Thackeray held a meeting with officials
Maharashtra surpassed the landmark of vaccinating 500,000 beneficiaries in the state on Monday. Even as the vaccination drive moves on, the state continues to witness high Covid-19 positivity rate in Vidarbha and north Maharashtra. Chief minister (CM) Uddhav Thackeray, who held a meeting with the visiting multidisciplinary team in the state, directed authorities to increase vigilance and follow Covid-19 protocol.
While Maharashtra’s daily Covid-19 positivity rate is under 5%, the trend has not remained uniform. A three-member team under National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) director Dr Sujeet Singh was in state from Friday to Monday to take stock of the Covid-19 situation. The team visited Nagpur, Amravati, Akola and Yavatmal and pointed out that these areas have a high positivity rate. Based on the suggestions of the central team, Thackeray on Monday directed officials at Nagpur, Amravati, Nandurbar and Bhandara, Akola and Yavatmal to make its machinery more vigilant.
According to NCDC, Maharashtra and Kerala contribute 24% and 40%, respectively, to the country’s current active cases.
The central team also visited Sion hospital and noted that Mumbai, Thane, and Palghar districts have the state’s maximum cases. However, the growth rate in these areas is limited.
“With the measures taken by the Maharashtra government, the number of new Covid patients is decreasing each day. However, the number of patients in rural areas such as Nandurbar and Bhandara are increasing more than the urban areas,” Thackeray said, adding that there is no shortage of health facilities in the state.
Meanwhile, health minister Rajesh Tope on Monday said that the state government to carry out genomic sequencing of positive patients from the areas which have high positivity rate.
A senior health department official said that the districts have been asked to send samples to National Institute of Virology in Pune for genomic sequencing of SARS CoV2 to ascertain the strain of coronavirus. Tope added that the districts have been asked to pull up their socks on tracking, testing and treatment of patients.
Meanwhile on Monday, the state vaccinated 22,200 healthcare workers (HCWs) and 14,066 frontline workers (FLW) to take the total inoculated tally to 509,746. Of the total beneficiaries, 468,293 are HCWs and 41,453 are FLWs, the state health department said. Maharashtra has completed vaccinating around 58% of the total 800,000 HCWs registered on the centralised CoWIN app. Of the total vaccinations administered so far, 4854 were Covaxin shots--vaccine developed by Bharat Biotech.The state is expected to administer the mandatory second doses from February 13.
On Monday, Maharashtra reported 2,216 Covid-19 cases, taking the tally to 2,046,287. The active cases in the state stood at 34,720, while 15 fatalities took the death toll to 51,325. Of the 15 deaths reported, eight occurred in the past 48 hours and six in the last week. The remaining one death is from the period before last week and had occurred in Yavatmal.
Mumbai reported 399 fresh cases, taking its tally to 312,280. Three deaths took the toll to 11,395. The city’s active caseload stood at 5,338.
