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Maharashtra records 552 cases, 12 deaths in highest single-day spike
The state now has 4,200 infections, of which 2,724 are in the state capital Mumbai, which recorded 456 new patients on Sunday.
Maharashtra recorded its highest one-day jump in Covid-19 cases on Sunday with 552 more infections that pushed the toll in India’s most-affected state beyond 4,000 but authorities insisted the spike was because of a backlog in Mumbai’s civic body and private laboratories.
The state now has 4,200 infections, of which 2,724 are in the state capital Mumbai, which recorded 456 new patients on Sunday. The spurt comes as a blow to the state’s health authorities after four consecutive days of relatively low numbers, which were 232, 286, 118 and 328 cases between April 15 and 18.
The state also reported 12 deaths on Sunday, taking the toll to 223. Of these, six were in Mumbai, four from Malegaon and one each from Solapur and Ahmednagar.
Maharashtra took 30 days to cross the 1,000-case mark on April 7, while it crossed the 2,000 mark in just six days on April 13. From 2,000 cases to 3,000, the state took three days and from 3,000 to 4,000, it took three days.
Officials said the rise in Mumbai numbers was because of the backlog from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and some private laboratories. “We have to verify all the cases that we get, which takes time. Private labs send us the data first, then to BMC, so sometimes we observe discrepancy in reporting of cases,” said Anup Kumar Yadav, commissioner (family welfare ) and director, National Health Mission, Maharashtra.
“We have increased the number of daily tests, so of course, the detection of new cases will rise. We shouldn’t say that the curve is falling depending on the data of one-two days. We have to consider data for at least a week before we can come to a conclusion,” he said.
According to officials from the health department, the verification of private laboratory reports by government laboratories takes a few days. “It leads to a sharp spike in numbers on the day the verification is done,” an official said.
Maharashtra has conducted 72,023 tests – the most by any state in India -- of which, 67,673 samples tested negative. A total of 507 patients have fully recovered. There are 87,254 people under home quarantine across the state, while 6,743 are under institutional quarantine. The number of containment zones in the state has reduced from 410 to 368, most of them in Mumbai. State authorities have so far screened 2.39 million people, with the help of 6,359 teams, as part of its containment strategy.
Earlier in the day, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray announced a relaxation of lockdown restrictions in rural areas but clarified that strict curbs in containment areas and in Mumbai and Pune will continue till at least May 3. “We are relaxing restrictions in green and orange zones, which have zero or fewer Covid-19 patients, to a certain extent. The industrial operations in these zones will be allowed, but the employers will have to ensure arrangements for stay and food for the employees. The district borders will, however, remained sealed and no intra-district activities be permitted,” he said.
The state government has also directed 10% of its employees to resume work from Monday. Maharashtra has only four districts (Nanded, Wardha, Bhandara and Gadchiroli) with no patients, while in 18 districts, the number (of Covid-19 cases) is in single digits.
