Maharashtra: Tomorrow, anniv of 1st Covid quarantine case in the state

Mumbai: When Maharashtra hit the first million cases on September 11, the pandemic was at its peak. Incidentally, on that day, Maharashtra had a record single-day high of 24,886 cases. On Thursday, in comparison, the state reported a total of 2,886 cases, including 527 from Mumbai, and 57 deaths. In fact, for most of December and January, daily detections have remained under 4,000 with Mumbai circle being the biggest contributor.

Maharashtra had reported the first two coronavirus cases on March 9 when a Pune couple, who were a part of a 40-member group that had gone on a Dubai tour, tested positive. Incidentally, the state will complete a year of quarantining the first five foreign returnees on January 23.

Within Maharashtra, Pune district is the worst hit with 3.83 lakh cases, followed by Mumbai (3.04 lakh) and Thane (2.65 lakh). N Ramaswami, commissioner, National Health Mission, said the state has consistently been reporting fewer than 4,000 cases daily of late. “The road ahead for Maharashtra is to continue masking and physical distancing as vaccination is not a replacement for either. There will be no let down in those campaigns,” he said, adding that the focus has now shifted to districts that have a higher positivity rate.

At least seven districts in Maharashtra have a daily positivity rate higher than the state average of 5.5%. “Nandurbar, Nashik, Nagpur are some that continue to have higher positivity rates,” said Dr Pradeep Awate, the state’s surveillance officer, adding that international travel and influx of people continue to be at the root of transmission in these pockets. “With vaccination, we hope to see a further decline in the mortality rate, which is currently at 2%,” he said. State figures pointed out a further dip in active cases in the state and the city. There were 45,622 active cases in the state, of which 6,669 were in Mumbai.

Mumbai added 527 fresh cases and 10 deaths on Thursday, taking the total caseload to 3,04,653 and deaths to 11,278. The city reported deaths in double digits after a gap of eight days. Dr Rahul Pandit, a member of the state Covid-19 task force, said that even though Maharashtra is in a far better position, the emphasis on testing cannot be undermined. “We have to keep testing, tracing and treating people. And, RT-PCR must be the primary mode of testing,” he said. Dr Awate added that 50,000 to 65,000 tests are being carried out daily, but a push will be given to districts with higher positivity rates now.