Maharashtra continues to grapple with the highest Covid-19 casualties across the country, apart from having the greatest number of infections, and the increase in deaths has become a cause of concern for authorities.
In the past 27 days, till July 27, a total of 5,877 Covid-19 deaths were recorded, as against 5,638 in June, 2,286 in May, 449 in April and 10 in March.
The death toll for July alone accounts for 42.33% of the total of 13,883 deaths recorded in the state so far.
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On Monday, Maharashtra reported 227 deaths. Of them, 39 were recorded in Mumbai, 28 in Raigad and 19 each in Panvel and Pune city.
This was 21st day when the state recorded more than 200 deaths a day.
With 13,883 deaths, the state’s case fatality rate (CFR) stood at 3.62% on Monday. When compared to the figure for last month, CFR has improved, as it was 4.57% on June 27.
But Maharashtra’s CFR continues to be the second highest in the country, after Gujarat, where CFR is 4.17% with 2,326 deaths and 55,822 cases till Sunday, according to statistics from the state medical education department.
{{/usCountry}}But Maharashtra’s CFR continues to be the second highest in the country, after Gujarat, where CFR is 4.17% with 2,326 deaths and 55,822 cases till Sunday, according to statistics from the state medical education department.
{{/usCountry}}To reduce the number of Covid-19 deaths, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray directed officials to form a task force for clinically ill patients in every district. The first such task force was created in Mumbai in April.
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Last week, Thackeray chaired a meeting with task force members from all districts and directed them to work in tandem so that the number of casualties can be reduced. He said there has to be proper coordination among the task forces and they should seek guidance from Mumbai’s task force.
The state’s case count reached 383,723 after 7,924 cases were recorded on Monday, a dip of 1,507 cases from Sunday. This resulted in a decline in active cases from 148,601 to 1,47,592, as 8,706 patients recovered on Monday alone, according to the state health department.
As many as 221,944 infected people have recovered so far and been discharged from hospitals across the state.
As the state plans to open up more activities after the sixth phase of lockdown ends on July 31, there are projections that infections are likely to rise in August, officials said.
State health minister Rajesh Tope said on Monday the state has reached the peak of the pandemic and cases will rise for another 15 days before hitting a plateau by mid-August.
“We are expecting a plateau or flattening of the (case) curve somewhere around August 15. Once we hit the plateau, cases will start declining,” Tope told HT.