As Maha govt is set to roll out more relaxations, August saw almost half of its total cases

State government officials said the decision on interdistrict, interstate travel, reopening of gymnasiums, allowing more employees in private and government-run officials would be taken on Monday

The Maharashtra government is all set to roll out more relaxations from the first week of September after the maximum number of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases and fatalities were reported in August.

In August, Maharashtra reported 3,58,571, or 45.93%, Covid-19 cases, and 9,405, or 38.55%, fatalities related to the viral outbreak. (AP)

In August, Maharashtra reported 3,58,571, or 45.93%, Covid-19 cases, and 9,405, or 38.55%, fatalities related to the viral outbreak.

The state had reported its first Covid-19 case on March 9.

The state government is likely to issue a notification on Monday announcing more relaxations under its Mission Begin Again campaign.

State government officials said the decision on interdistrict, interstate travel, reopening of gymnasiums, allowing more employees in private and government-run officials would be taken on Monday.

“The relaxations will be rolled out in a phased manner in a bid to avoid a sudden spike in Covid-19 cases. Though the Centre has mandated lockdown only in containment zones, the state is unlikely to lift it entirely from the red zones that are spread across its 19 civic body areas, where there are still a high number of active Covid-19 cases,” said a state government official.

Maharashtra is inching towards the mark of 800,000 Covid-19 cases. The state has reported 780, 689 Covid-19 cases and 24,399 deaths until Sunday.

The highest number of Covid-19 cases in the state was reported over the past four weeks.

Newer hotspots in rural and suburban areas were added to the growing list. Cities such as Pune, Solapur, Nagpur, and Malegaon have reported a spike in viral outbreak cases.

The state health authorities expect the surge to hold the line until the first two weeks of September.

In July and June, the state had reported 247,357 and 107,106 Covid-19 cases, respectively. The two months had accounted for 31.68% and 13.71%, respectively, of the total number of Covid-19 cases in Maharashtra to date. In July, 7,139 people had died of the viral infection, while the corresponding figure for June was 5,569. These months had contributed to 29.25 and 22.82% of deaths, respectively, due to the contagion.

Maharashtra’s case fatality rate (CFR) is still high at 3.13%, as compared to the national figure of 1.81%.

However, the state has reported a steady drop in its CFR.

In August, the CFR is 2.62% , as compared to 2.89%, 5.20% and 4.40% in July, June and April, respectively.

The steady rise in Covid-19 cases in August has pushed the state’s projection of the flattening of the viral curve by a few more weeks. “We didn’t experience the plateauing of the infection curve in August because of a spike in Covid-19 cases. It’s difficult to give a realistic timeline. The state is likely to achieve a peak by mid-September and by Diwali, which is to be observed in the second week of November, the curve is likely to move faster towards the baseline,” said Dr Pradeep Awate, surveillance officer, Maharashtra.

The spread of the contagion in the rural areas has penetrated faster over the last few weeks. The percentage of Covid-19 cases in rural areas has increased by 34% -- 7,175 out of 16, 408 --- until Sunday from 21% --1,024 out of 4,878 --- on June 30.

“The penetration in the rural areas, where the health infrastructure is comparatively weaker, is a cause for concern, as the containment of its spread is a challenging task,” said an official.

The state authorities are planning to tackle the spread by launching Chase the Virus initiative in rural areas from the second week of September.