59% dip in Covid-19 patients in home quarantine in 8 days: Maharashtra government data

With the gradual flattening of the Covid-19 curve in Maharashtra, the number of patients in home quarantine has decreased by around 58.6% in the past eight days.

With the gradual flattening of the Covid-19 curve in Maharashtra, the number of patients in home quarantine has decreased by around 58.6% in the past eight days. However, health officials have said that Covid-19 cases may increase post-Diwali festivities.

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On November 1, as many as 2,544,799 people were quarantined at homes, which on Sunday decreased to 1,051,321. On Sunday alone, 8,232 patients under home quarantine had recovered from the virus.

For the past two weeks, Maharashtra has been reporting an average of 7,000 daily cases despite conducting nearly 70,000 tests. The recovery rate among mildly symptomatic patients has also increased drastically. “The overall active cases have come down across the state, especially at the hot spots. For instance, both Pune and Mumbai, which were the major contributors in the cumulative Covid-19 cases, the total number of active patients have come down to around 17,000 in each of the cities,” said Dr Pradeep Awate, state surveillance officer.

As per the state health department data, districts such as Kolhapur (323), Dhule (317), Washim (107) and Nandurbar (429) have the lowest number of active Covid-19 cases.

Meanwhile, the number of patients who are in institutional quarantine has also decreased by 35% from 12,230 on November 1 to 7,912 on November 8.

“Despite the relaxation in the lockdown norms, we have been able to keep the infection rate under control. But the next 15 days will be crucial for us as the infection rate might surge. So, citizens need to be more careful and follow all the safety measures,” said Dr Archana Patil, director of state health service.

However, health activists are sceptical about the numbers. They claim that as the state government is gradually relaxing the lockdown, it is trying to show less number of active Covid-19 cases.

“The home quarantine patients aren’t tested before being declared ‘recovered’. In the race to open up trains and offices, the health department can miss out on patients who haven’t recovered. So, they need to be more careful,” said health activist Dr Abhijit More.