Photos: At 615,477, Maharashtra has more covid cases than South Africa

Maharashtra’s tally of coronavirus cases went over 6.15 lakh on August 18. According to the worldometers website, the number of cases in the state now stand ahead of South Africa’s number, which is the fifth most coronavirus infected country in the world currently. Maharashtra had reported its first Covid-19 case on March 9 and it took 162 days for the infections to cross the 600,000 mark. Health experts have attributed this widespread distribution of cases to the inevitable movement of people due to unlocking of lockdown restrictions. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray stating his concerns over the upcoming Ganesh Chaturthi and continuous rise in covid cases, appealed to people to avoid crowding and regulate the rituals.

Updated on: Aug 19, 2020 4:07 PM IST

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An artist works on an idol of Hindu deity Ganesha slaying a structure resembling to coronavirus with a trident, ahead of the upcoming Ganesh Chaturthi festival at Lower Parel in Mumbai on August 18. According to the coronavirus tracking website Worldometers, Maharashtra’s Covid-19 tally overtook South Africa’s numbers as the numbers reached 615,477 on August 19. (Kunal Patil / PTI)

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A community health worker gives medicines after screening a woman for Covid-19 and malaria symptoms at Dharavi in Mumbai on August 19. According to HT’s report, Maharashtra had reported its first case on March 9 and it took 162 days for the infections to cross the 600,000 mark. (Rafiq Maqbool / AP)

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A health worker holds Covid-19 test sample at a screening camp in Mumbai on August 17. On August 18, the state government declared that the total number of recoveries in the state have risen to 437,870 while the number of those tested has gone up to 32, 64, 384. (Indranil Mukherjee / AFP)

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People seen wearing face masks at Palladium mall in Mumbai on August 16. Health experts told HT that the main reason for continuing surge in infections is the rise in cases in semi-urban and rural areas since the easing of lockdown restrictions. (Punit Pranjpe / AFP)

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A health worker collects swab sample of a doctor post duty at a testing camp in Mumbai on August 17. There is also a growing concern of inadequate coronavirus specialized staff amid surging cases. “We need specialised staff to treat critical patients. Both the state and the Central government could not provide that quality of trained health staff and infrastructure in rural and semi-urban areas,” Dr Sanjay Pattiwar, a public health expert told HT. (Indranil Mukherjee / AFP)

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Community health volunteers check the temperature of a woman during a coronavirus check-up camp in Mumbai on August 16. Pattiwar added that there should be a system for regular interaction between doctors from semi urban and rural areas with the members of task force formed to reduce Covid-19 casualties, which is not happening. (Francis Mascarenhas / REUTERS)

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A Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) worker appeals to citizens to maintain social distancing at Subhash Road market in Thane on August 15. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray stating his concerns over the upcoming Ganesh Chaturthi festival and continuous rise in cases, appealed to people to avoid crowding and regulate the idol immersing rituals. (Praful Gangurde/ HT Photo)