Mumbai death toll crosses 1k

Maharashtra records 2,436 new cases, 60 fatalities; state has reported more than 20k cases in past 9 days

MUMBAI: Maharashtra on Monday recorded 2,436 new Covid-19 cases, taking its tally to 52,667. The state witnessed 60 fatalities, pushing up the toll to 1,695. With 38 of these recorded in Mumbai, the city crossed the 1,000 deathsmark. While Mumbai’s Covid-19 toll rose to 1,026, the number of cases in Mumbai increased by 1,430 to 31,972.

In other parts of the state, Pune recorded 244 fresh cases, while Thane 149 new cases on Monday, taking their virus count up to 5,319 and 2,739 respectively.

Maharashtra, which is the worst-hit state in the country, has witnessed a surge in Covid-19 cases, with more than 20,000 infections reported over the past nine days alone. The state government is expecting cases to rise further in the next fortnight, especially in Mumbai and Pune, said state health department officials, adding that the government has already started strengthening its health infrastructure and adding new beds.

Mumbai, which accounts for 60% of the state’s coronavirus cases, is already staring at a shortage of hospital beds and ICU facilities.

The Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) on Monday outlined the plan to increase beds in Mumbai by creating “jumbo facilities”. The CMO said a centralised dashboard has been created to track the availability of beds and its location in real-time. With increased capacity and real-time tracking of beds, patients will not have to spend crucial hours waiting for availability of beds.

Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, in his address to the state on Sunday, said the government is anticipating a spike in cases by month-end. “In the next two weeks, Dedicated Covid Hospital Centre (DCHC) and Dedicated Covid Hospital (DCH) collectively with 7,000 beds will come up at Dahisar, Mulund, Mahalaxmi Racecourse, and Goregaon,” a note from the CMO said.