Maha tally 868 with 120 new cases, 34 deaths in Mumbai

nMUMBAI: Maharashtra recorded 120 more (Covid-19) cases on Monday, taking the total number of infected people in the state to 868, with Mumbai’s tally rising by 68 cases to 526. The death toll in the state, too, rose to 52, with seven more Covid-19 related fatalities on Monday. Mumbai alone has recorded 34 deaths.

According to the state health department data, around 85% (752) of Covid-19 cases and 92% (48) of the deaths have been reported from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and Pune district. This has led authorities to aggressively pursue cluster containment plans to combat the spread of the virus.

The MMR – Thane, Navi Mumbai, Kalyan-dombivali, Ulhasnagar, Mira-bhayander, Bhiwandinizampur, and Vasai-virar – excluding Mumbai has recorded 85 cases and nine deaths. Pune has reported 141 cases and five deaths.

In Mumbai, where the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has earmarked 226 containment zones, Worli is the worst-hit area. Eleven fresh cases were recorded on Monday in Worli, taking the area’s tally to 68.

In Mumbai, a containment zone is categorised when even a single person from any area is tested positive for Covid-19. The patient’s family and the building are identified as a cluster zone and at least four to five adjoining buildings on all sides are mapped in the containment zone, depending on the area’s population density. The greater the population density, the wider the radius of containment zone, a BMC health official said.

In Worli Koliwada, after a BMC sweeper tested positive on April 2, civic health staffers have screened more than 50,000 people, said BMC officials. From Mon

day, the BMC initiated a second survey of all homes in the area, with the help of doctors.

“The number of cases in this particular area is increasing. So we have imposed a strict ban on movement. We are rigorously tracking high-risk and low-risk contacts,” said BMC commissioner Praveen Pardeshi.

Civic health officials said a team of four members identified containment zones in the area to conduct door-to-door surveys for suspected patients. Beyond the containment zones, the BMC has surveyed buffer zones, where the virus might have spread.

As part of this survey, 320 highrisk contacts have been identified and quarantined at the local Potdar Hospital for 14 days.

According to BMC protocol, families and immediate neighbours of positive patients are tested, as they are considered high risk. Other residents in their neighbourhoods are considered low risk and are asked to be under home quarantine.

They are also asked to keep a tab on their symptoms. Residents of adjoining buildings in the containment

zones are also surveyed. Entry and exit from a containment zone are restricted and severe lockdown protocols are put in place.

State health minister Rajesh Tope indicated the state government would have to take additional “precautions” with respect to lifting the lockdown in Mumbai and Pune. He hinted that the lockdown in Maharashtra may not be lifted after April 15 and said that nobody should assume that things would come back to “normal” after that.

“There is a protocol to follow on how to lift the lockdown. We have case studies of countries lifting the lockdown. The Centre, too, will send us advisories regarding this. 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 have to take additional precautions. So, nobody should assume things will be back to normal after April 14,” Tope said.

Mumbai

Pune

Kasargod