As mall is sanitised in Mumbai on August 3, 2020. (Express Photo: Narendra Vaskar)
Maharashtra, Mumbai, Thane Coronavirus Live Updates: Malls across Mumbai had a slow start Wednesday as they reopened after four months. With most branded stores and shops still closed, customers looking for electronic stores and essential supplies returned empty-handed.
As Maharashtra shows signs of stabilisation in its active cases, the state has begun opening up with new guidelines easing restrictions and permitting activities under its ‘Mission Begin Again’. The state government on July 29 had rolled out fresh relaxations to the lockdown norms and allowed malls and market complexes to reopen from 9 am to 7 pm across the state, including in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. The order, signed in by Chief Secretary Sanjay Kumar, however, said theatres, food courts and restaurants in these complexes would continue to remain shut.
Maharashtra reported 10,309 fresh cases of Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, taking its tally to 4,68,265 on Wednesday, while 334 patients succumbed to the infection, the state health department said. The state also reported the death of 334 more patients, taking the toll to 16,476, said a health official.
In other news, a new genetic study has found the prevalence of a unique variant of the virus in Maharashtra. Scientists at the National Centre for Cell Sciences (NCCS) in Pune have found a region-specific variant, which has not so far been reported from other parts of the country.
Maharashtra, Mumbai, Pune Coronavirus Live Updates: At a Covid-19 testing center in Mankhurd on Tuesday. (Express Photo: Amit Chakravarty)
A 36-YEAR-OLD man employed with Maharashtra Security Force (MSF) died of Covid-19 early on Tuesday, making it the first death to be recorded in the 9000-strong force. His death has led to anxiety amongst personnel, as they are neither eligible for medical cover nor compensation in case of death, according to government rules.
The MSF was created under the Maharashtra State Security Corporation on the recommendation of Ram Pradhan Committee formed after the 26/11 attack in Mumbai. The force was established on the lines of the Central Industrial Security Force and has the responsibility of providing security at 162 sensitive locations in the state, including several municipal hospitals treating people infected with Covid-19. The force, however, does not have a medical cover and is not eligible for compensation in case of death.
So far, 307 MSF personnel have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, while 267 have recovered out of them. As many as 39 personnel are undergoing treatment.
Maharashtra reported 10,309 fresh cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, taking its tally to 4,68,265 on Wednesday, while 334 patients succumbed to the infection, the state health department said. The state also reported the death of 334 more patients, taking the toll to 16,476, said a health official.
The tally of 10,309 coronavirus cases was one of the highest single-day detections so far, he said. Also, 6,165 patients were discharged from hospitals in the state, taking the number of recovered cases to 3,05,521, he said. With this, there are now 1,45,961 active cases in the state, the official said.
The BMC reported 1,125 cases in Mumbai, taking the cumulative figure to 1,19,240, while the Pune Municipal Corporation reported 1,282 cases, taking the total to 65,136. Maharashtra's COVID-19 figures are as follows: Positive cases 4,68,265, deaths 16,476, discharged 3,05,521, active cases 1,45,961, people tested so far 24,13,510.
The Maharashtra government on Wednesday told the Bombay High Court that it incurred a loss of around Rs 42 lakh as most of the Shramik Special trains arranged in the last month to ferry stranded migrant workers to their native states amid the COVID-19 pandemic went empty. Advocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni, appearing for the state government, told a division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice A S Gadkari that lakhs of migrant workers are now, in fact, coming back to Maharashtra from their native states.
The bench was hearing a petition filed by a city-based trade union body, Centre of Indian Trade Unions, raising concerns over the plight of migrant workers stranded in Maharashtra amid the pandemic. Kumbhakoni said in the last month, the state government arranged for trains to ferry thousands of migrant workers but only 3,551 people boarded the trains.
"The state government incurred a loss of around Rs 42 lakh, he said. He further told the court that a train was arranged from Pune to ferry 383 people to their native state, but on the day of the departure, only 49 people boarded the 24-coach train. "Lakhs of migrant workers who left the state at the beginning of the pandemic are now returning to Maharashtra, Kumbhakoni said. The petitioners advocate, Ronita Bhattacharya, on Wednesday told the court that there are still several migrant workers waiting to go back to their native states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal.
The bench said the petitioner needs to ascertain the number of migrant workers who wish to go back to their native states. "Another thing that needs to be considered is whether the receiving states are inclined to permit these migrant workers back, Chief Justice Datta said. The bench directed Kumbhakoni to file an affidavit giving details of the number of trains run, how many migrants boarded the trains and the expenditure incurred by the government. The court posted the plea for further hearing after two weeks.
The Nagpur Central Prison has refused permission to former Delhi University professor and Maoist ideologue G N Saibaba to attend the post-funeral rituals of his mother, who died on Saturday. Read more
In a major relief to traders struggling to resume their business during the pandemic, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has withdrawn a rule that allowed non-essential shops to operate only on alternate days during the ‘unlockdown’ phase. Read more
In Mumbai, a 53-year-old man was arrested for allegedly misbehaving with police officials has tested positive for coronavirus, an official said on Tuesday.
The man was arrested along with his daughter and her fiance last week.
During his medical examination, he tested positive for the virus. However, his daughter and her boyfriend as well as the police personnel who had come in contact with them tested negative for the infection, the official said.
The man's daughter and her fiance were stopped by the police in sector 3 of suburban Charkop when they were riding a motorbike during lockdown last week. (PTI)
A man has been arrested here for selling Tocilizumab injection, used for treating critically ill coronavirus patients, in black market at three times its printed price, the police said on Tuesday.
Azam Nasir Khan (30), a resident of Kashipur in Uttarakhand, was selling the injection for as much as Rs one lakh, said an official of the Mumbai police's Crime Branch.
He was suspected to be part of an inter-state racket, the official added. Tocilizumab is administered when the oxygen level of a COVID-19 patient goes down, he said. (PTI)
India’s top drug regulator has approved the application of the Serum Institute of India (SII) to conduct late-stage human trials in the country for the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine candidate. While the vaccine is already being tested in other countries, it is important for India to be a part of these global trials.
The world, including India, is still learning how this virus works in different populations because it is relatively new. India, for instance, is now planning on rolling out a registry to collect data from patients in hospitals across the country to understand how they can improve treatment strategies.
In clinical trials for any new drug or vaccine, the third phase of testing looks for the effectiveness of the product in thousands of participants to get an idea of whether it will work in a large and diverse population. It is also important to note that these late stage trials check for any adverse reactions in the population that the product is intended for. Click here to read our explainer.
Malls are reopening in Maharashtra from tomorrow. Planning to visit one? Here are new features you are likely to see. Stay safe!
There were 1,998 new cases of Covid-19 discovered in Pune on Monday, taking the city's tally to 92,880. With an additional 45 deaths, the toll rose to 2,129. "Of the 1,998 cases, 781 were reported from Pune Municipal Corporation limits (the city), which now has 58,304 cases. With 748 cases, Pimpri-Chinchwad's COVID-19 count now stands at 23,682," an official told news agency PTI.
Meanwhile, Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad Police have clarified that the night curfew in the city has been lifted. Officials told The Indian Express imposing strict norms in containment zones will remain their key focus.
As many as 81 inmates and three staffers from Sangli District Prison have tested positive for coronavirus disease (Covid-19). Authorities said swab tests of 100 inmates and staff were conducted on Saturday, results of which were obtained on Monday morning.
With the addition of 81 cases from Sangli prison, the total number of Covid-19 cases in prisons across the state is now above 850, nearly 220 of which are active cases as on Monday. The Maharashtra Prison department has started conducting random tests among inmates and staff in the prisons, following directives from the Bombay High Court. As many as 270 prison staffers have tested positive across the state, of which 50 are active cases as on Monday. Read more here
Four months since the lockdown, the fear of unemployment in Solapur is fast replacing the fear of Covid-19, especially among those aged above 50. Known for its bidi and textile factories, the city administration last week allowed the re-opening of these units, but with conditions: each worker would be tested for fever and oxygen saturation level at entry, physical distancing has to be followed and pregnant women cannot be allowed. Plus, there was another -bidi workers aged above 58 years would not be permitted to work. On ground, however, factory owners are refraining from allowing those aged above 50 to work. Read Tabassum Barnagarwala's report
A new genetic study has found the prevalence of a unique variant of the virus in Maharashtra. Scientists at the National Centre for Cell Sciences (NCCS) in Pune have found a region-specific variant, which has not so far been reported from other parts of the country.
“We have found four variations of SARS-CoV2 (the scientific name of novel Coronavirus) to be predominant in most of the genome sequences collected from infected people in Pune, Satara and Nashik districts,” said Dr Yogesh Shouche, senior scientist at NCCS. These specific gene variations have so far not been reported from similar studies in other parts of the country, he said. Read Anuradha Mascarenhas' report
From August 5, several restrictions will be eased in Mumbai as part of the government's 'Mission Begin Again'. Non-essential shops will be permitted to open between 9 and 7 pm; malls will reopen, but without food courts, restaurants or theatres; liquor stores will reopen. Here is what will be allowed, what won't be allowed in Mumbai tomorrow
Welcome to our live blog, where we will track the latest news and updates on the novel coronavirus situation in Maharashtra. The state reported 8,968 new cases and 266 deaths on Monday, taking its caseload to 4,50,196 and toll to 15,842. There are 1,47,18 people being treated for the disease in the state, which at least 9,77,495 people are quarantined. At least 22,98 tests have been conducted.
In Mumbai specifically, there were 970 new cases and 46 deaths on Monday. This took the city's tally to 1,17,406, while the toll rose to 6,493.