Maharashtra’s share of national Covid-19 cases drops to 21.45% from 40.91%

While the state continues to report a high number of cases and crossed the 9,000-mark for the daily count on Sunday, state health officials say this is because of the aggressive testing policy.

Maharashtra still tops the chart of Covid-19 cases across the country, though its daily share has dropped significantly over the past two months.

With 9,518 more infections on Sunday, Maharashtra’s tally now stands at 310,455, against the national tally of 358,692. (Pratik Chorge/HT Photo)

While the state continues to report a high number of cases and crossed the 9,000-mark for the daily count on Sunday, state health officials say this is because of the aggressive testing policy.

With 9,518 more infections on Sunday, Maharashtra’s tally now stands at 310,455, against the national tally of 358,692.

As of July 18, the state’s share of daily cases was 21.45%, as Maharashtra reported 8,348 cases on that day, as against 38,902 across the country. The state’s share in the national total on June 18 was 27.61%, when Maharashtra reported 3,752 cases against the national total of 13,586.

Maharashtra accounted for 40.91% of the national tally on May 18, as it recorded 2,033 cases out of the national tally of 4,970 cases on that day. A month before that, on April 18, the state’s share was 24.59%.

The fall in Maharashtra’s share of the daily national tally is also because of the rapid rise of cases in other states. Barring Mumbai, none of the other cities or districts of Maharashtra have witnessed a drop in the caseload.

“Maharashtra has been leading the national chart of cases continuously, but the share has drastically fallen and it’s a good sign. We conduct the second highest number of tests after Tamil Nadu, and the number is rising. A total of 37,934 samples were tested on June 18,” said an official in the chief minister’s office who declined to be named.

“This is one of the reasons why Maharashtra is reporting the highest cases. The high number of cases should not be a cause for concern as it helps in containing the spread and will help stabilising the virus spread.”

As of July 17, Maharashtra’s total number of tests had touched 14.85 lakh, second to Tamil Nadu’s 18.31 lakh on that day. Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh followed with 13.80 lakh and 12.60 lakh tests.

Shashank Joshi, a member of the state’s task force for clinical management of critical patients, said that following Mumbai, the neighbouring cities are expected to witness stabilisation of the virus curve in two weeks, and rest of the state in four weeks.

Avinash Supe, a member of the expert committee appointed to recommend measures to check the spread of the Coronavirus, said Mumbai’s share in state figures and state’s share in the national tally is dwindling. “It is a sign of containment by the authorities,” he said.

The state’s high fatality rate remains a cause of concern. With the death toll of 11,854, the state’s case fatality rate stands at 3.83%, as against the national rate of 2.46%. Among the total fatalities in the country, Maharashtra’s share is 43.11%.