Maharashtra sees 227 Covid-19 deaths, highest single-day toll since Oct 17

The Maharashtra government, in order to ramp up Covid-19 testing, has reduced RT-PCR test rates to ₹500 and antigen tests to ₹150 for private laboratories

Maharashtra’s single-day Covid-19 toll rose to 227 on Wednesday, highest since October 17 last year when it saw 250 deaths. The last time the state saw more than 200 deaths in a day was on October 20, 2020, when it logged 213 casualties. The number of new cases in the state also jumped to 39,544 on Wednesday, after two days of comparatively lower numbers.

A health worker collects nasal swab of a passenger for COVID-19 test at a long distance train station in Mumbai, Maharashtra state, India, Sunday, March 21, 2021. India has reported its highest number of coronavirus cases in four months amid a worrying surge that has prompted multiple states to return to some form of restrictions on public gathering. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool) (AP)

The state government, in order to ramp up Covid-19 testing, has reduced RT-PCR test rates to ₹500 and antigen tests to ₹150 for private laboratories.

On the rise in the number of deaths, Dr Tatyarao Lahane, director, Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER), said many citizens tend to ignore the initial signs. “We have observed that many [people] just tend to neglect signs like headache or body ache. They are seen to test late once their condition deteriorates and many then succumb to the virus,” he said.

He said although 167,078 tests were conducted in the past 24 hours, the government reduced the test prices as it wanted to increase test rates further. “We feel if test prices are slashed, it will encourage more people to test themselves,” said Dr Lahane.