Over 14000 cases reported for second consecutive day

For the second consecutive day, Maharashtra reported more than 14,000 cases on Thursday, with 14,718 new cases being reported, taking the total count to 7,33,568. It is the second-highest number of cases reported in a single day. “In the reconciliation process of COVID-19 cases between 14th August to 20th August, the cumulative number of cases has increased by 139,” said Dr. Pradip Awate, state surveillance officer.

Mumbai, Meanwhile reported 1,300 cases and 30 Covid-19 deaths, increasing the progressive count to 1,40,832, with 7,532 deaths so far.

Meanwhile, the state also reported 355 fatalities due to the disease, taking the toll to 23,444. Of the fatalities on Thursday, 236 were from the previous 48 hours and 83 were from last week. The remaining 36 deaths were from the period before last week.

Of the total deaths, 83 were from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), followed by 67 were in Pune, 58 in Nashik, 44 in Kolhapur, 43 in Nagpur, 40 in Latur, 11 in Aurangabad and six in Akola, while three deaths were from another state.

Senior officials said the opening up of sectors and increase in movement is the key reason for the spread in these smaller cities. “In the Latur division which includes districts like Nanded, Beed and Osmanabad are big market areas. Moreover, the spread of the virus in rural areas is a concern for the state government. Moreover, the increased movement of people during festivals could push the pace of the spread in these areas,” he said.