Three more U.K. returnees test positive for new strain in Pune

3,729 new COVID-19 cases, 3,350 recoveries in State; 665 fresh cases in Mumbai

January 07, 2021 11:37 pm | Updated 11:38 pm IST - Pune

Covering all bases:  Healthcare workers prepare for a dry run of the COVID-19 vaccination drive at Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai on Thursday.

Covering all bases: Healthcare workers prepare for a dry run of the COVID-19 vaccination drive at Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai on Thursday.

Three more U.K. returnees tested positive for the new COVID-19 strain on Thursday, taking its case tally in Maharashtra to 11.

State health authorities said the three patients are from Pimpri-Chinchwad in Pune district and all 11 cases are asymptomatic. Of these, two patients (one each from Pune and Mumbai) have been discharged after 14 days of quarantine and their two consecutive RT PCR tests have returned negative.

State Surveillance Officer Dr. Pradeep Awate said 4,858 returnees from the U.K. and other European countries after November 25 had been traced, of whom 3,476 underwent RT-PCR tests and 75 tested positive for the old strain. “The 75 samples have been referred to the National Institute of Virology in Pune for genomic sequencing, while 522 contacts have been traced. Of these, 341 have been tested and 30 were found positive,” he said.

Maharashtra on Thursday reported 3,729 new COVID-19 cases as opposed to 3,350 recoveries. The active case tally has risen to 51,111, while the total case tally and recoveries stand at 19,58,282 and 18,56,109 respectively. A total of 66 fatalities saw the death toll climb to 49,897.

The State’s recovery rate stands at 94.78%, while the case fatality is 2.55%. “Of 1,31,99,201 laboratory samples tested so far, 19,58,282 (case positivity rate down to 14.84%) have returned positive with over 65,000 samples being tested in the last 24 hours,” said Dr. Awate.

Pune reported nearly 750 new cases to take its tally to 3,76,658, while 18 deaths saw its toll rise to 7,805. As per district administration figures, the active case tally, which dipped below the 5,500-mark on Wednesday, rose to 5,589. The recovery rate stands at 96.08%. Mumbai reported 665 new cases to take its total case tally to 2,96,985, of which 7,759 are active. Seven fatalities saw the city’s toll reach 11,162.

Nagpur reported over 500 new cases, taking its tally to 1,28,353, of which 4,837 are active. Twelve deaths saw the toll reach 3,242. Satara reported a single death as its toll stood at 1,780, while 58 fresh cases saw the total case tally rise to 55,022, of which just 756 are active.

Sangli reported 32 cases and a single death as the district’s tally reached 50,352, of which only 443 are active. Its death toll stands at 1,770.

Kolhapur reported just six cases and no fatalities. Its tally reached 48,823, of which 86 are active, while its toll stands at 1,660.

In north Maharashtra, Nashik district reported 142 cases and two deaths as its total case tally reached 117,007, of which 1,716 are active. Its death toll stands at 1,931. Jalgaon reported 35 new cases and four deaths as its total case tally reached 56,480, of which only 531 are active, while its death toll stands at 1,458.

A total of 2,70,217 people across the State are in home quarantine, while 2,824 are in institutional quarantine facilities.

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