With 729 new COVID-19 cases recorded on Tuesday, the third-highest single-day surge yet, Maharashtra’s tally has touched 9,318.

The State also reported its highest single-day death toll of 31, pushing the total to 400. A record 811 cases were reported on April 25 and the second-highest tally was 778 recorded on April 23.

Nearly 66% of the fresh cases and 61% of the new fatalities were recorded in Mumbai, which reported 25 deaths on Tuesday. Four deaths were reported from Jalgaon and two from Pune. State health officials said 20 victims had co-morbidities such as diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease.

Six die at home

Meanwhile, Amravati district, which has the highest death toll in the Vidarbha region, recorded 28 cases and seven deaths on Tuesday. Six victims breathed their last at their homes and one patient died in a hospital in Amravati.

A local resident said the patients died at home because private practitioners are failing to inform authorities about COVID-19 symptoms in their patients or referring them to hospitals in time. District collector Shailesh Nawal said, “Their samples were collected after death and the reports returned positive.”

Amravati’s first case was recorded on April 4 when the sample of a 49-year-old mechanic who had died two days earlier tested positive. Most cases have been reported from Nagpuri gate and Kholapuri gate.

While none of the patients or the deceased have any travel history, local authorities have identified a man who had attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Delhi as the one who could have triggered the spread of infection. “He had stayed in Badnera for a few days before heading to Washim. He is most likely the contact,” said Mr. Nawal.

Two districts in Vidarbha — Wardha and Gadchiroli — are the only green zones in Maharashtra. The region has recorded 294 positive cases and 10 deaths so far. The highest cases have been recorded in Nagpur, followed by Yavatmal. One death each has been recorded in Akola, Buldhana and Nagpur.

Nearly 1.55 lakh people in the State are in home quarantine and 9,917 in institutional quarantine. So far, 1,388 recovered patients have been discharged.