Maharashtra reports 120 new patients and seven deaths; MMR and Pune have 87% of state’s cases

The MMR, which includes Mumbai, Thane, Kalyan-Dombivli corporations, and Pune, have a fourth of the state’s population, despite occupying less than a tenth of the total area.

Maharashtra reported 120 more coronavirus cases on Monday, taking the number of infected people in the state to 868, even as the toll went up to 52 with the deaths of seven people, official figures revealed.

Monday was the third consecutive day the state saw more than 100 cases (Sanchit Khanna/HT PHOTO)

According to the state, around 87% (752) of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases and more than 92% (48) of the deaths from it are in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and Pune district, leading the state administration to direct authorities to aggressively pursue cluster containment plans to combat the spread of the virus. The MMR, which includes Mumbai, Thane, Kalyan-Dombivli corporations, and Pune, have a fourth of the state’s population, despite occupying less than a tenth of the total area.

Monday was the third consecutive day the state saw more than 100 cases. On Saturday and Sunday, 145 and 113 people tested positive for the virus respectively. Of Monday’s new cases, 68 are in Mumbai alone, while the city also recorded four deaths, which took its toll to 34.

“There is a protocol to follow on how to lift the lockdown. We have case studies of other countries. The Centre, too, will send us advisories. We will study the situation between April 10 and April 15… Nobody should think the lockdown will be lifted completely. We will have to take all precautions. Wherever there are more cases, like in Mumbai and Pune, we will take additional precautions. So, nobody should assume things will be back to normal after April 14,” Tope said.

The state has tested 17,563 people for the coronavirus so far, of which, 15,808 tested negative. It has also kept 3,498 suspected patients under government quarantine facility, while 32,521 are quarantined at home, said the health officials.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) sealed off Wockhardt Hospital in Agripada after 46 nurses and three doctors tested positive. Tope said the state has now four dedicated hospitals to treat Covid-19 patients in Mumbai.

“There are now four dedicated Covid-19 hospitals in Mumbai — Saifee Hospital, Kasturba Hospital, Nanavati Hospital and SevenHills hospital. All Covid-19 cases will now be treated in these hospitals. The patients that have been admitted in other hospitals may also be shifted,” he said.

“It has come to light that there are rumours being circulated about the [Tablighi Jamaat] congregation. Therefore, we met the heads of Tablighi Jamaat. As per the directions of the Prime Minister and chief minister, the religious heads have prepared videos appealing to all [members]. They have appealed for them to come forward, get quarantined, get tested and co-operate with the government,” the minister said.

Eight people. who have participated in the congregation in Delhi, have tested positive so far. Of them, two each are in Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad and Ahmednagar and one each in Hingoli and Washim, officials said.

Meanwhile, the state government has written to the Centre, demanding 3.25 lakh personal protective equipment (PPE) kits, nine lakh N95 masks and 99 lakh triple-layer masks, informed the health minister.

The state government has also formed 3,078 teams of health workers and police personnel to concentrate on the containment zones. Most of the teams are active in MMR, Pune and Nagpur. The Mumbai and Navi Mumbai municipal corporations have formed 519 and 196 teams respectively, while Pune and Nagpur have formed 439 and 210 teams. The advisory issued by the BMC has directed its ward officers to prepare containment and buffer zones, where patients are reported. The teams then monitor residents to identify high-risk and low-risk contacts and shift them to isolation or quarantine facilities.

“After the cases in Dharavi, we have activated our containment zone plan and have prepared a 300-bed quarantine facility at the Dharavi sports complex. High-risk contacts are shifted immediately to the facility, while low-risk residents are monitored meticulously. Similarly, we have a 51-bed hospital in the locality to take care of suspected patients. Rather than reacting after the complaints, we have started conducting health camps and collecting throat swabs of suspected cases,” said Kiran Dighavkar, assistant municipal commissioner, G/North ward.

The district collectors and municipal commissioners have been directed to identify/acquire the school, college, marriage hall buildings, so as to convert them into quarantine/isolation ward facilities. “This is the most effective way to contain the virus spread in densely populated areas, where there are cases. The high rate of infection in urban areas is mostly because of the Jamaat programme organised in Nizamuddin on March 18. We expect the rising rate of patients to stabilise in the next few days after all links of Tablighi attendees have been tracked down,” said an official from Mantralaya.

Deepak Mhaisekar, divisional commissioner, Pune division, said that they have been concentrating on the containment zones as per the government advisory. Thane mayor Naresh Mhaske said Thane city could restrict the number of patients to 21, owing to continuous efforts of tracing suspected patients through their contact history and quarantining them.