Maharashtra recorded 12 COVID-19 positive cases on Monday to take the State’s tally to 215, with fresh cases being reported from Pune, Mumbai, Nagpur, Kolhapur and the first positive case reported from Nashik in north Maharashtra.
While Pune district recorded five new cases, three more were reported from Mumbai, two from Nagpur, one more from Kolhapur and one from Nashik’s Niphad , which had hitherto remained unaffected.
“One youth in his early 30s has tested positive. He is from Lasalgaon in Niphad Taluk. While we had sent 73 samples for testing at Pune’s National Institute of Virology (NIV) from the district, 72 had returned negative and his was the only one to test positive. So, I again urge all citizens to remain indoors and to prevent any community outbreak of the virus,” said Nashik District Collector Suraj Mandhare.
According to sources, the Niphad youth who tested positive did not have any history of foreign travel.
With five fresh cases being reported from Pune, the total number of COVID-19 positive cases in the district has now risen to 42.
So far, 38 persons across the State have recovered from the virus and have been discharged from hospitals where they had been kept in isolation.
Authorities, however, have expressed fears of a further rise in the number of cases in Sangli district, where four members of a family in Islampur tehsil, who had returned from Saudi Arabia, have infected several others in turn – making it possibly the biggest case of cluster infection in Maharashtra.
Till date, a total 25 persons, of whom 24 are members of the Islampur family, have tested positive.
A total lockdown has been imposed in Islampur tehsil since Sunday and the town sealed-off for a radius 3.5 km from the residence of the persons diagnosed with the virus.
Authorities further informed that 337 persons who had close contact with the Islampur family had been placed in quarantine facilities, while stating that even essential services like vegetables and milk would be strictly regulated during the three-day lockdown period.
