Maha sees biggest 1-day spike of 1,495 cases, tally passes 25K

Maharashtra on Wednesday registered its highest single-day jump in coronavirus cases and deaths with 1,495 new infections and 54 more deaths, taking the tally past 25,000 to 25,922 and toll to 975.

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The country’s worst-affected city, Mumbai, breached the 15,000 mark with 800 new cases, taking its count to 15,747.

According to the data provided by the state health department, of the deaths recorded on Wednesday, 40 were in Mumbai, six in Pune, two each in Jalgaon, Solapur and Aurangabad, and one each in Vasai-Virar and Ratnagiri. The health department said it has not added Mumbai’s 220 patients from May 7 to the total due to the absence of reconciliation on the portal of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

More than 50% of the state’s Covid-19 cases have come in this month alone. The first case was on March 9. From May 1 to May 13, Maharashtra has clocked 13,820 cases, 53.31% of the total.

According to the state health department, 422 patients recovered from Covid-19 on Wednesday, taking the total number of recoveries to 5,547.

The state has, so far, conducted 2,30,857 tests, of which 2.03,439 have tested negative. Meanwhile, the Covid-19 count in other hotspots is Pune city: 2,830; Thane city: 1,122; Navi Mumbai 1,018; Malegaon: 617 and Aurangabad: 586.

Meanwhile, to ease the pressure off the state police who are enforcing the lockdown, the state government has asked for 20 companies of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) from the Centre. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had last week indicated that the state could seek additional forces from the Centre to give a break to the state police force in phases. Several police officers and personnel have been affected by coronavirus infections, while police personnel are under a lot of strain.

“Many Maharashtra police personnel have tested positive for the virus and need time to rest and recuperate,” he said, adding that May 25 is Eid and the state would need an augmented security presence to ensure law and order is not disturbed. “We’ve hence asked for 20 CAPF companies to be deployed urgently to help the police,” said state home minister Anil Deshmukh.

The state government is now also looking at providing supplementary treatment of Ayurvedic, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy (AYUSH) medicines along with allopathy treatment for Covid-19 patients, who are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms. The state medical education and drugs department issued a government resolution to form a task force on AYUSH for Covid-19 under Dr TP Lahane, director of medical education and research.

The nine-member panel, which also has former city mayor Dr Shubha Raul, will prepare guidelines for a treatment protocol, said Dr Kuldeep Raj Kohli, director of Ayush Maharashtra and joint chairman of the task force.

“The objective is to how best we can use Ayush in Maharashtra during this Covid-19 outbreak. The task forces would prepare a treatment protocol for people who are quarantined, are asymptomatic, or have mild symptoms. It would need clearance from the state’s Covid task force. People now are taking different types of medicine. At least they would get a guideline. People would then take medicines that the task force has asked to be taken,” Kohli said. He added that no form of allopathy treatment would be stopped for patients. Ayush treatment, if approved, would be complementary.

A state health department official said that other states such as Gujarat have tried Ayurvedic medicine on asymptomatic patients in Ahmedabad. Similarly, a small group of patients may be given medicines prescribed by the task force as a trial to see the duration of recovery.

Meanwhile, as numbers continue to soar in Aurangabad city, state health minister Rajesh Tope and district’s guardian minister Subhash Desai individually took stock of the preparedness. Tope has set up a task force to tackle the rising number of cases. The city has 586 cases and 18 deaths. The doubling rate in the city stands at eight days, which the civic body has brought down from 4.5 days earlier this month. Malegaon, in Nashik district, is another hotspot in the state where cases have seen a surge. Tope visited Malegaon on Wednesday to take stock of the situation and preparedness.

Aurangabad, which is a hotspot, has 12 containment zones with 55 localities. Desai, who inspected the preparedness in the city, said, “There AMC (Aurangabad Municipal Corporation) has kept 4,000 beds available. Therefore, in case there is a spike, later on, there is no fear of any shortage of hospital beds. Besides, district medical college has kept 450 beds to treat severe and critical cases. The arrangements are so far adequate. We have planned in such a manner that around 50 beds will be available for patients.”

Desai added that the industries department, which he heads, has allowed a 5,702 sq m industrial facility in the city to be converted into a 250-bed Covid-Care Centre in a month’s time.

Maharashtra has, so far, tested 2,30,857 samples at both government and private-testing facilities. According to the data provided by the medical education department, the percentage of people found positive has increased from 7% earlier this month to 12% on May 13. Health department officials are attributing this increase to an increasing number of tests.