Maharashtra records 70,521 Covid-19 cases in first four days of September

Maharashtra recor-ded its highest single-day spike in Covid-19 cases on Friday as the 24-hour tally crossed the 19,000-mark for the first time. It was also the third

Maharashtra recor-ded its highest single-day spike in Covid-19 cases on Friday as the 24-hour tally crossed the 19,000-mark for the first time. It was also the third consecutive day when the state recorded most infections in a day. Maharashtra’s overall case count rose to 863,062 after addition of 19,218 cases on Friday, with active cases increasing to 210,978 – 24.44% of the total Covid-19 infections in the state.

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The surge, which has been witnessed after relaxations in lockdown curbs during Ganeshotsav, has resulted in the state reporting 70,521 Covid-19 cases in the first four days of the month. According to state health department, Maharashtra recorded 15,765, 17,433 and 18,105 infections on September 1, 2 and 3 respectively.

The state’s Covid-19 fatalities, too, rose to 25,964 as 378 deaths were reported on Friday. However, of these, 248 were from past 48 hours, 78 from last week and 52 from the period before that.

The sudden rise in infections in Maharashtra is also a result of the state getting new hotspots, with a significant number of cases being reported in rural areas. On June 3, when the state started relaxing lockdown restrictions in phases under its ‘Mission Begin Again’, majority of cases were from 19 cities – declared as red zones – but inter-district movement of people has changed the scenario.

The 19 cities were Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Kalyan-Dombivli, Ulhasnagar, Bhiwandi-Nizampur, Mira-Bhayander, Vasai-Virar, Pune, Solapur, Aurangabad, Nashik, Malegaon, Dhule, Jalgaon, Akola, Amravati and Nagpur.

Dr Sanjay Pattiwar, a public health expert, said the virus has spread in the rural areas where health infrastructure is weak and people lack awareness. “The cases are rising as the virus has spread in the rural areas and new places are getting added to the list. The health infrastructure in rural areas is still weak and people are still not aware of the seriousness of the disease,” said Pattiwar, adding that the state government should also involve medical colleges in monitoring and analysing the daily situation. “A team of doctors from each medical college can be assigned a district and they will analyse the situation and discuss it with the local authorities, so that decision can be taken according to the situation and things can come under control.”

State health officials are wary that the surge in cases is likely to continue as fresh round of relaxations has come in to effect from September 2. The state has allowed inter-district travel by removing a mandatory condition of e-pass and allowed private passenger buses, mini-buses to operate. It has allowed an increase in workforce in government and private offices and also given hotel, lodges and guest houses permission to operate at full strength.

Meanwhile, the state government has decided to start house-to-house survey – ‘My Family, My Responsibility’ – from September 15. It aims to cover each and every citizen for Influenza-Like Illness (ILI), Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI) and citizens with co-morbidities.

A team comprising a health worker and two others will conduct the survey and inspect every person and also suggest to them available services for the diseases. The state will make available one doctor against five teams. A swab test will be recommended to those having Covid-19 symptoms.

The state will survey 2.25 crore families twice a month during the survey. The first phase will be conducted between September 15 and October 10 and the second phase between October 12 amd October 24. The survey will help get data of all citizens and that in turn will help in early detection and treatment. This will enable the state to bring down Covid-19 deaths. A presentation about the survey was made to chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday. HT was the first to report about the survey on August 28.

On Friday, Mumbai recorded 1,929 cases, highest in the state, which is also more than the average daily infections (900-1,400) reported in August. The city’s tally rose to 152,024, with 22,222 active cases. Mumbai’s toll stands at 7,799 after 35 deaths were reported on Friday.

Pune City becomes second highest contributor of infections in the daily caseload as it recorded 1,689 cases, taking its tally to 108,117. Nagpur recorded 1,500 cases, pushing its case count to 26,444.

The state has also witnessed a high number of fatalities this month, with 1,381 deaths recorded in the first four days. The state’s overall case fatality rate (CFR) stands at 3.01%, slightly lower than Gujarat that had a CFR of 3.06% with 3,062 deaths (100,213 cases) on Thursday.