Maha count up to 490; 6 dead of coronavirus

The count of Covid-19 cases in Maharashtra rose to 490, up by 67 from Thursday, and the death toll touched 26, even as the Maharashtra government’s 2,455 flying

The count of Covid-19 cases in Maharashtra rose to 490, up by 67 from Thursday, and the death toll touched 26, even as the Maharashtra government’s 2,455 flying squads screened 9.25 lakh in door-to-door surveys in areas across 18 districts.

HT Image

Of the 67, 43 cases were registered in Mumbai, bringing the count to 278; nine in Pune, eight in Navi Mumbai, three in Ahmednagar and one each in Palghar, Kalyan, Ratnagiri and Washim. One death was reported in Mumbai and three in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), excluding Mumbai, and one each in Pune and Jalgaon.

The first case in the state was reported on March 9. Under the cluster containment action plan, the flying squads conduct a survey in three-km radius of containment areas (where a person has tested positive or his close contacts live), if three or more Covid-19 patients are found there.

However, the state health department has directed the local authorities to conduct surveys even if one patient is found in an area, said an official from state health department. In Mumbai, the worst hit in the state, 292 teams have completed a survey of more than four lakh residents, state officials said.

State health minister Rajesh Tope said a flying squad is expected to visit an area for 14 days and prepare a list of people suffering with symptoms such as cough, cold, fever or respiratory problems. “If they don’t recover, they are referred to the government facility,” Tope said. “The squad is also being used for contact tracing, which plays an important role in containing the spread. They are also asked to create awareness among people about the pandemic.”

Seven members – two each in Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad and Ahmednagar and one in Hingoli district – who attended the Tablighi Jamaat event have tested positive. The state government could contact 1033 people of the 1,225 who went to New Delhi and has put 738 in government quarantine facilities, said an official.

The wife of the second COVID-19 patient who died in Mumbai was discharged on Friday. According to sources, the deceased’s 32-year-old daughter, who was also found to be COVID-19 positive, has turned negative and would be discharged on Saturday. In another case, of the 40 quarantined medical staffers at Shatabdi Hospital in Kandivli, 26 have tested negative. The reports of the remaining 14 are pending.

In the state, 595 suspected patients are admitted in various hospitals across the state. Till Friday, of the 12,858 samples tested, 11,968 samples were found negative; while 50 have recovered. A total of 38,398 are quarantined at home and 3,072 are in government quarantine facilities.

On Thursday, the health department announced the plan to start 30 dedicated government hospitals with 2,305 beds for patients. It also decided to start mass rapid tests to ascertain the level of infections among masses.

Meanwhile, the state government has declared a financial assistance of ₹50 lakh to the kin of police personnel who die in the line of duty. Deputy chief minister and finance minister Ajit Pawar made the announcement after holding a meeting with home minister Anil Deshmukh, health minister Rajesh Tope and other senior officials. Pawar has also requested the central government to waive GST and service tax on all medical equipment that are useful in the fight against coronavirus such as personal protective equipment kit, ventilators, testing kits, mask etc.

Pawar in his letter to union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the demand for all these things has increased due to the worldwide outbreak. “Easy availability and also at cheaper rates of all these equipments is the need of the hour. Thus GST and service tax being imposed on them should be waived off with immediate effect,” states the letter.

Government employees related to public health, medical education and police force would be given priority while paying the rest of the salary for March. The state government has announced payment of the salary for government employees and elected representatives in installments. In the first installment, the government employees will get 50% to 75% salary, while the remaining part will be released later in the coming months.