Maharashtra nears 2,000 case count as infections rise
MUMBAI: Maharashtra recorded 221 Covid-19 cases and 10 deaths on Sunday, taking the state closer to the 2,000-count mark at 1,982. The death toll has reached 149, state figures revealed.
The state crossed 1,000 cases just last Tuesday, but the past five days reported more than 100 per day, including three days that saw more than 200 cases. Mumbai has 1,298 positive cases and 92 deaths.
The state has tested 41,109 people. It has also kept 5,064 suspected patients under government quarantine facility, while 61,247 are quarantined at home, according to health officials.
The rising numbers had forced chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday to extend the lockdown till April 30, so as to prevent the state from slipping in to phase three — community spread — of the outbreak, officials said.
MUMBAI: Maharashtra recorded 221 coronavirus disease cases and 10 deaths on Sunday, taking the state closer to the 2,000-case mark at 1,982. The death toll has reached 149, state figures revealed.
The state crossed 1,000 cases just last Tuesday, but the past five days reported more than 100 per day, including three days that saw more than 200 cases. Mumbai has 1,298 positive cases and 92 deaths. The state has tested 41,109 people. It has also kept 5,064 suspected patients under government quarantine facility, while 61,247 are quarantined at home, said the health officials.
Senior officials have indicated that the rate of the virus’s spread will be arrested, but it could take a couple of days. “The rise is on and for two days, the number of new cases had even crossed the 200 mark, but on Saturday, it came down to 187. We have taken measures to curb the spread and are hoping that the decline in new cases will start in the next couple of days,” said a senior official, requesting anonymity.
The rising numbers had forced chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday to extend the lockdown till April 30, so as to prevent the state from slipping in to phase three — community spread — of the pandemic, said the official. He has also said that they may have to extend it even further if people did not co-operate. However, the state is also mulling to relax restrictions in areas where there are no cases. “There is a meeting with the CM on Monday where the issue is likely to be discussed. We have suggested that the areas that are completely unaffected should be given some relaxations,” said another senior official, wishing not to be named.
Meanwhile, the state medical education department on Sunday directed all government and private medical colleges to send their proposals to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for starting Covid-19 tests. “There are eight government and 33 private medical colleges, where the facility is yet to be started. We have asked all of them to send their proposals to ICMR so that the facility can be started there as well,” said Dr Tatyarao Lahane, director, Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER).
The testing facility for Covid-19 is currently available at 17 government and 15 private medical colleges across the state.