At least 71 new novel coronavirus cases were reported from Pune district over a 12-hour span as its total tally — including deaths and recoveries — rose to 3,866, said authorities on Sunday.
The new surge in cases follows a day after Pune district recorded its highest single-day spike on Saturday, reporting more than 200 cases and at least 11 fatalities.
The district’s death toll has currently climbed to 197, said district authorities despite the State Health Department, as per its medical bulletin on Saturday, pegging the district’s death count at 188.
“As many as 71 new cases were reported since Saturday night till today [Sunday] morning,” said Pune District Health Officer (DHO) Bhagwan Pawar.
Speaking to The Hindu, Pune Municipal Commissioner Shekhar Gaikwad said that from an analysis of the new cases, it appeared that some persons engaged in essential services, who themselves tested positive, had turned out to be major spreaders of the infection.
“A major wholesale pharmaceutical distributor, who owns an entire building in the city’s Sadashiv Peth area, had tested positive recently. While his family members tested negative, 35 of his 50 workers have tested positive. Likewise, a nurse working at a prominent city hospital, living in the city’s Katraj area has tested positive and infected at least a dozen more persons,” Mr. Gaikwad said.
Likewise, the district’s rural areas, where the contagion has been relatively kept in check, witnessed its highest single-day spike of nine new cases on Saturday.
“This rise in cases has been after relaxation of the lockdown rules, with several persons, hitherto stranded in Mumbai city, travelling back from there and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) to their homes in Pune district. Two positive cases from Indapur yesterday [Saturday] were those who came from Mumbai,” said Ayush Prasad, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Pune Zilla Parishad.
Mr. Prasad, too, pointed to the pattern of the new cases being among those engaged in essential services.
“Recently, we had a case in Velhe where a fruit seller ventured into Bhavani Peth in Pune city, which is perhaps the most infected area in the district. He caught the infection there, and came back to attend his mother’s funeral. 10 more cases emerged from those who attended the funeral,” he said.
1,952 discharged
Despite the rise in new cases, authorities said that till Saturday, a total 1,952 persons in the district had been discharged from various hospitals following complete recovery, with more than 400 of these being discharged over the past 48 hours alone.
A total 2,075 persons across Pune division — which includes the districts of Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur and Solapur along with Pune — have been discharged so far.
As per figures given by the Pune Zilla Parishad’s Health Department till Saturday evening, there were 1,646 active cases still in various hospitals across the district of whom 157 were critical.
Of these 1,646 cases, 1,427 are undergoing treatment in hospitals in Pune city, 61 in Pimpri-Chinchwad, and as many as 158 in Pune rural areas.
Dr. Pawar said that till Saturday, the samples of a total 30,631 persons had been tested in Pune district of which 25,247 samples had returned negative. A total 3,249 persons were at present kept in quarantine facilities in the district.
On Saturday, the State had reported its highest single-day rise in fatalities as well as the second-highest single-day surge in cases, recording 67 deaths and 1,606 new cases respectively to take its cumulative death toll to 1,135 and its total case tally soaring to 30,706.