With 92 new Covid-19 cases, Maharashtra now has 1666 infections

Health officials in Maharashtra, which has been the worst-hit in the country, have said the number of Covid-19 cases has recorded a 147.8% jump since April 4 – a week – when there were 635 infections.

Maharashtra on Saturday reported 92 new cases, mostly from Mumbai, of the coronavirus disease, taking the state tally to more than 1660, officials said.

The Maharashtra government, however, is looking to extend the lockdown in urban areas but it may ease a few restrictions in rural areas, especially where there are not many cases. (Pratham Gokhale/HT Photo)

The numbers on Saturday were less than those recorded on Friday and Thursday when more than 200 people tested positive for Covid-19 on both the days.

Out of the 92 coronavirus infections, Mumbai had 72, Malegaon five, Thane four, Panvel and Aurangabad each had two and one each was reported from Kalyan Dombivali, Palghar, Nashik rural, Nashik city, Ahmednagar, Pimpri Chinchwad and Vasai Virar.

On Friday, 210 new infections were reported and the state’s tally stood at 1574. The death toll had risen by 13 to 110 across the state on Friday.

Mumbai’s Covid-19 count crossed the 1,000-mark on Friday, a month since the first coronavirus disease (Covid-19) patient was reported in the city.

The city had reported 132 new cases and 10 deaths on Friday, taking its tally to 1,008 and toll to 64.

Mumbai breached the 100-patient mark on March 31, almost three weeks after a couple from Andheri were identified as the first to be infected by the disease in the city. On April 2, the city’s tally crossed 200 and since then cases have tripled in the past week.

The number of deaths has also jumped in the past four days, with the city reporting 24 deaths. The first Covid-19 death in Mumbai was recorded on March 17, when a 64-year-old man succumbed to the infection at Kasturba Hospital.

Health officials in the state, which has been the worst hit in the country, have said the number of Covid-19 cases has recorded a 147.8% jump since April 4 – a week – when there were 635 infections.

The capital city of Mumbai has also seen a spike of 167%—from 377 to 1008—in the number of cases during the same period.

The officials attributed the rise in Covid-19 cases to more testing across the state, especially in Mumbai. According to the health department’s data, Maharashtra has conducted 33,093 tests so far—the highest in India.

The state government, however, is looking to extend the lockdown in urban areas but it may ease a few restrictions in rural areas, especially where there are not many cases.

A decision on the lockdown extension is expected to be taken on Saturday, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s video conference with chief ministers of all states.

State health minister Rajesh Tope had earlier indicated that the situation “would not come back to normal after the 21-day lockdown ends on April 14”.

Senior state government officials have said the government is looking at various options, including keeping Mumbai, Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad – the areas with most of the cases – under lockdown.

They said the restrictions could be relaxed in other parts of the state. However, movement of people between districts and curb on transportation is likely to continue, said the officials on condition of anonymity.

Rajesh Tope, the state’s health minister, had held a meeting with Union health minister Harsh Vardhan via video conferencing on Friday.

Tope had sought quicker standardisation for personal protective equipment (PPE) kits, so that its manufacturing can begin. The state sought additional testing facilities in five cities – Nanded, Aurangabad, Jalna, Latur and Amravati.

Maharashtra, Tope said, has 325,000 PPE kits, 825,000 N95 masks, 2125 ventilators, but needs more such equipment.

“Maharashtra has five to six manufacturers, but the standardisation has to come from the Centre. The chief minister has already written to the government of India seeking a timeframe to provide additional PPE, masks and ventilators,” he said.

Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, state health department officials said, would take up the issue with the Prime Minister during the meeting on Saturday.

More than 500 cases of coronavirus disease were reported in India in the last 12 hours, bringing the number of Covid-19 patients to 7447 on Saturday, the Union home ministry data showed.

The country has registered 239 fatalities as of 8am on Saturday, on a day Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to hold a meeting with chief ministers of all the states to decide whether to extend the 21-day lockdown. The country-wide restrictions are to end on April 14.