Maharashtra deaths leap by 123, tally inches closer to 78,000

MUMBAI: Maharashtra reported 123 Covid-19 fatalities on Thursday, its highest for a day. With this, the state’s toll jumped to 2,710. The highest toll reported in a 24-hour period earlier was 122, on Wednesday.
The state recorded 2,933 new cases, its third-highest addition in a day, taking the tally to 77,793. Mumbai’s toll crawled towards the 1,500 mark as 48 deaths were reported by BMC; the toll is now 1,465. The city also added 1,439 cases, its count hitting 44,931.Of the Covid cases reported in Maharashtra, the state update said, 41,393 are active cases under treatment, while 33,681 patients have been discharged.
The state government attributed Thursday’s 123 fatalities to book-keeping and said 30 of the 123 deaths were reported in the last two days, while the other 93 were those that had occurred between April 30 and June 1 but added to the count now.
Of the 48 deaths reported in the city, 33 patients had chronic health conditions such as hypertension, diabetes and obesity, among others. While 15 patients were women, 33 were men. Seven of the victims were under the age of 40 years, 18 were between 40 and 60 years of age, and another 23 were above 60 years old.
The BMC update said 626 patients were discharged in a 24-hour period ending on Thursday afternoon, taking the total number of discharged patients in the city to 18,098 so far. “We keep patients for a minimum of 10 days in our civic hospitals because of the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) guidelines. However, our doctors feel many patients can be discharged earlier given the improvement in their health status within a week,” said a senior BMC health department doctor.
The ward-wise breakup of cases showed that Dharavi area (G North ward) recorded 23 cases on Thursday. The ward has recorded the highest number of cases in the city at 3,258.
The number of cases seem to be gradually increasing in two wards -- N (Ghatkopar) ward that has recorded a total of 2,127 cases and M East (Govandi) that has recorded 2,124 cases.
Former CM and leader of opposition Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday claimed the number of tests being conducted in Mumbai had been reduced drastically. As on May 1, of the total tests being conducted in the state, 56% were from Mumbai; the number was brought down to 40.5% on May 15 and as on May 31, of the total tests, 27% were from Mumbai, he claimed. He said the reduction in testing and high number of deaths were a cause of concern.
The BMC has asked people to be on their guard for the next 7 to 10 days – the incubation period for many monsoon illnesses ranging from dengue, malaria, H1N1, jaundice and leptospirosis. “Post-cyclone and rain, there could be a rise in cases of monsoon-related diseases in addition to coronavirus illness,” BMC officials said. People who develop symptoms such as fever, cough, joint pain, rashes and breathlessness within the next week should immediately consult a doctor, they said.
Meanwhile, the Covid crisis seems to be worsening in the satellite cities around Mumbai. In Navi Mumbai, 84 new cases were reported, taking the tally to 2,557. Civic officials there informed there were three deaths on Thursday, taking the toll to 83.
In the highest 24-hour spike, Ambernath region with a population of around 3.5 lakh recorded 73 new cases on Thursday. The number of patients there reached 287, while the toll is seven. 194 fresh cases, including that of a doctor from the Kalwa CSM hospital, were reported in Thane, taking the tally there to 3,643 even as five more patients succumbed to the infection, taking the toll to 108.
The recovery rate of the state is 43% as on Thursday, with a total of 33,681 people having been treated and sent home, the state update said.