The upward surge in the numbers of new COVID-19 positive cases in Maharashtra continued with the State reporting 466 cases and nine deaths on Monday. The cumulative tally rose to 4,666 cases, and the death toll stands at 232.
Seven of these deaths were reported from Mumbai city, while two more were reported from Malegaon in Nashik. Malegaon had reported four fatalities on Sunday.
With these deaths, Nashik’s toll stands at eight.
“We are yet to receive information on whether the two Malegaon fatalities had any co-morbidities. Of six of the remaining eight deaths, 71% had high-risk co-morbidities such as diabetes, hypertension, asthma and heart disease,” said State Surveillance Officer Pradeep Awate, adding that 65 patients were discharged from hospitals on Monday, taking the total discharged till date to 572.
While no deaths were reported from Pune district, the death of a 47-year-old district cooperative bank official in Sangli, which was confirmed by authorities there, was not corroborated by State health officials.
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According to Sangli district authorities, the patient, who was admitted to the Government Medical College and Hospital (GCMH) in Miraj, had succumbed to acute respiratory failure on Sunday evening itself.
308 in Mumbai
Meanwhile, 308 of the 466 new cases were reported from Mumbai city alone, as the city’s tally crossed the 3,000 mark to reach 3,032 with 139 deaths.
The State has reported more than 1,600 new cases over a five-day period.
Pune district witnessed another spurt in fresh cases, reporting as many as 52 positive cases to take the district’s tally to 663, with 51 of these being reported from Pimpri-Chinchwad.
The Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) limits, which were sealed, witnessed strict enforcement of lockdown measures with digital passes being granted only to those persons engaged in dispensing essential services.
The cases in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), excluding Mumbai city, continued to mount steadily as well, with Vasai-Virar recording a jump in 21 new cases to take its tally to 107, while Thane district reported 24 fresh cases to take its tally to 154 and Kalyan-Dombivli reported a further 15 cases to reach 84. A further 11 cases were reported from Navi Mumbai, taking the area’s tally to 83 positive cases.
Two more positive cases reported from Kolhapur district in western Maharashtra, including that of a woman who was intercepted on April 17 along with a group of migrant workers travelling from Mumbai to the neighbouring State of Karnataka in a container during the lockdown. The district’s tally of positive cases stands at eight.
Despite the two fatalities, the number of fresh cases reported from Malegaon was considerably lower than Sunday with only seven cases being reported from the town.
“Currently, 93,655 people across the State are in home quarantine and 6,879 persons in institutional quarantine,” said Dr. Awate.
At least 53 mediapersons from Mumbai have tested positive for coronavirus, a city civic official said on Monday.
During a special camp organised at the Azad Maidan here on April 16 and 17 for COVID-19 testing of scribes, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) collected swab samples of 171 mediapersons, including electronic and print media journalists, photographers and cameramen.
“Out of the 171 mediapersons, 53 tested positive for coronavirus,” BMC spokesperson Vijay Khabale said, adding that most of those who tested positive were asymptomatic at present.
All the mediapersons found infected with coronavirus would be kept in isolation and a process was under way to find out suitable places for the purpose, he said.
