Solapur district in Pune division reported two deaths, and Aurangabad in Maharashtra’s Marathwada region reported yet another death on Tuesday as the number of COVID-19 positive cases continued to steadily mount in Pune, Aurangabad, Akola and Amravati.
Aurangabad, which has seen a dramatic rise in cases since the past few days, saw its death toll rise to 11 while its cumulative case tally surged to 321 with 24 new cases since Monday evening, said authorities.
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“The latest death was of a 65-year-old patient with a history of ailments who had tested positive for the novel coronavirus on April 28. He was on ventilator support and succumbed during treatment at a private hospital today,” said a district health official.
Sudden surge
The district, and especially Aurangabad city, has reported a surge of more than 60 new cases in the last three days.
At least 25 new cases were reported on Sunday and a further 14 on Monday.
The district had recorded its first COVID-19 positive case on March 15. Over the next 45 days, while the number of cases increased, the contagion seemed to be in check as the tally was a little over 50 cases. However, officials observe that in the last week or so, the district has witnessed an alarming surge of more than 220 cases, with a daily spike of an average 25 cases.
In Pune district
Meanwhile, at least ten fresh COVID-19 cases were reported from Pune district on Tuesday morning, taking the district’s total tally of cases — including deaths and recoveries — to 2,132, said health officials.
The district’s death toll currently stands at 115, with 111 of these — including that of an Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) attached to the city’s Faraskhana Police Station — being reported from Pune city and the rural areas, and four from Pimpri-Chinchwad.
As per figures given by the Pune Zilla Parishad’s Health Department till Monday evening, there were 1,454 active cases recorded in the district, which included 1,377 cases in Pune city, 65 in Pimpri-Chinchwad, and 12 in Pune rural areas.
With the rise in new cases, the active positive cases has increased to 1,464. Thus far, 553 persons from the district have been discharged.
Of the 1,454 active cases reported till Monday evening, 1,152 are presently undergoing treatment in Pune Municipal Corporation-run hospitals, 148 in Sassoon and BJ Medical College Hospitals, 77 in civil hospitals, 12 in rural hospitals and 65 in Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation-run hospitals.
Of these patients, 86 are said to be in a critical condition.
Samples tested
Till yesterday, the samples of a total 17,272 persons had been tested in Pune district, of which 14,815 samples had returned negative. A total 1,797 persons were presently kept in quarantine facilities in the district.
Pune Divisional Commissioner Dr. Deepak Mhaisekar said that Pune division’s cumulative case tally stood at 2,398.
Along with Pune’s fatalities, the death toll in the Pune division — which includes the districts of Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur and Solapur along with Pune — now stands at 127, with Solapur reporting six deaths, Satara district recording two, and Kolhapur and Sangli each reporting one death thus far.
Meanwhile, Akola district has reported 11 new cases on Tuesday to take the district’s tally to 75. This includes 13 discharged patients, and seven deaths, with the number of active cases at 55, said district authorities.
Amravati district reported four new cases to take its total tally to 65.
