Maharashtra reported an identical surge of 552 new COVID-19 cases in less than 72 hours as its tally soared past the 5,000-mark on Tuesday to reach 5,218 cases, while 19 new fatalities took the State’s death toll to 252.
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The State had recorded a spike of precisely 552 fresh novel coronavirus cases on Sunday as well, making both instances the highest single-day surge across Maharashtra so far. The State has reported nearly 1,600 new cases over a 72-hour period.
Twelve of the 19 deaths were reported from Mumbai city, while four fatalities were reported from Pune district, including one from Pimpri-Chinchwad. Two deaths were reported from Thane district, while State health officials finally confirmed the death of a 47-year-old district cooperative bank official in Sangli in their medical bulletin. The patient had succumbed to acute respiratory failure at the Government Medical College and Hospital in Miraj on Sunday evening.
“A total of 63% of the deaths reported had high-risk co-morbidities such as diabetes, hypertension, asthma and heart disease,” said State Surveillance Officer Dr. Pradeep Awate. Despite the rapid surge in cases, 150 patients were discharged from hospitals on Tuesday, taking the number of recovered cases in the State to 722.
Overwhelming number
In a familiar pattern, the overwhelming majority of new cases (419) was reported from Mumbai alone, as the city’s tally shot to 3,451 cases with 151 deaths. Pune district witnessed another bout of fresh cases, reporting as many as 53 cases to take the district’s tally to 726, with 51 being reported from Pimpri-Chinchwad. The district’s death toll stands at 55, with two fatalities being reported from Pimpri-Chinchwad. According to Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation Commissioner Shravan Hardikar, no fresh case has been reported in the past 48 hours. The second death reported from Pimpri-Chinchwad was of a 62-year-old wife of an ex-Army jawan. The woman, who a history of medical ailments, had been admitted to Command Hospital last week for treatment of a kidney problem and tested positive for COVID-19.
Interactive map of confirmed coronavirus cases in India
“The woman was also suffering from diabetes, hypertension and renal disease. We are trying to ascertain how she may have contracted the virus as the test sample results of her close contacts have returned negative,” said Mr. Hardikar.
With Pune city reporting 200 cases in four days, authorities have intensified efforts in the containment zones to curb further spread of infection.
“The Pune civic body has 11 mobile vans in the hotspots. Till date, we have screened as many 8000 persons through this service of which 38 cases have tested Covid-19 positive,” said Rubal Agarwal, Additional Municipal Commissioner, PMC.
Civic bodies in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (excluding Mumbai city) all reported fresh cases as well with Thane district reporting 18 fresh cases to take its tally to 172, Kalyan-Dombivli reported a further nine cases to reach 93 and Navi Mumbai reporting 11 more to touch 94.
Nagpur district reported nine new cases, taking the district’s tally to 79 as a war of words erupted between the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) administration headed by Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe on hand, and the Mayor and BJP leader Sandeep Joshi and the local BJP legislator Krishna Khopde on the other.
With most of the fresh cases emerging from Nagpur’s Satranjipura area, both politicos accused Mr. Mundhe, known for his outspoken manner, of ‘negligence’ in failing to ensure that quarantine rules were followed by the Covid-19 patients.
Mr. Khopde, in a letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, even urged the latter to hand over the Satranjipura area to the military.
A glimmer of hope amid the State’s relentless rise in cases was the fact that no new cases were reported from Latur, Osmanabad, Washim and Hingoli districts in Maharashtra’s rural hinterland.
“Currently, 93,569 people across the State are in home quarantine and 7,808 persons in institutional quarantine,” said Dr. Awate.
