A Covid-19 swab testing camp at Shell Colony in Chembur West, Mumbai on August 17, 2020. (Express Photo: Amit Chakravarty)
Maharashtra, Mumbai, Pune Coronavirus News Live Updates: Maharashtra on Tuesday reported 11,119 new coronavirus patients which took the state’s case tally to 6,15,477. With 422 COVID-19 patients succumbing, the death toll in the state reached 20,687. 9,356 patients were discharged from hospitals, taking the number of recovered coronavirus patients to 4,37,870. There are now 1,56,608 active cases in the state.
In state capital Mumbai, 931 new cases and 49 deaths were reported. The total number of COVID-19 cases in the city
thus rose to 1,30,410, and death toll to 7,222. The number of active cases in the country’s financial capital is 17,693. Pune city reported 1,267 new cases along with 54 deaths. The total number of cases in Pune city stands at 81,674 and death toll at 2,131. So far 32,64,384 coronavirus tests have been carried out in the state.
In other news from Pune, the first sero-survey conducted in the city detected the prevalence of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in an average of 51.5 per cent of the people. Scientists and epidemiologists said the extensive spread was not unusual. Pune’s results can be compared to New Delhi, where 23 per cent had antibodies, and Mumbai, where the percentage was 57 per cent in slums and 16 per cent in non-slum areas. In Ahmedabad, it was 47 per cent.
A Covid-19 testing camp at Chembur, Mumbai. (Express Photo: Amit Chakravarty)
A sero-survey is conducted in Mumbai. (Express Photo)
The Maharashtra government has decided to provide Rs 25 lakh insurance cover to non- government organisations (NGOs) from rural areas which perform final rites of people who die of COVID-19, Minister Hasan Mushrif said on Tuesday. The insurance cover to NGOs will be provided till September 30, the rural development minister said, according to an official statement. Mushrif said the government issued a circular in this regard on Tuesday.
'A decision has been taken to give Rs 25 lakh insurance cover to non-government organisations from rural areas and their staffers who perform final rites of those who die due to COVID-19,' he said, according to the statement. (PTI)
Maharashtra on Tuesday reported 11,119 new coronavirus patients which took the state’s case tally to 6,15,477. With 422 COVID-19 patients succumbing, the death toll in the state reached 20,687. 9,356 patients were discharged from hospitals, taking the number of recovered coronavirus patients to 4,37,870. There are now 1,56,608 active cases in the state.
The coronavirus case tally in the slum-dominated Dharavi area of Mumbai rose to 2,676 on Tuesday with four new patients coming to light, said a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) official. The area, considered to be Asia's largest slum, recorded a single-digit rise on the 15th day in a row. It had registered a spike of only four cases on Monday too.
On August 3, Dharavi recorded 12 new COVID-19 cases but thereafter the daily rise was in single digit. On August 5, only one new case was found, while nine cases were found on both August 10 and 12. (PTI)
The Bombay High Court on Tuesday directed the Maharashtra government to clarify its stand on reopening places of worship amid the coronavirus-enforced lockdown in the state. A bench led by Chief Justice Dipankar Datta was hearing a Public Interest Litigation filed by a city-based NGO seeking that the state reopen temples and permit limited number of devotees at a time to enter the temples.
The court directed Advocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni to file an affidavit clarifying the state's stand over it. Kumbhakoni, however, told HC that on August 12, the state filed a reply before another bench of the court saying it did not intend to open any place of worship currently as it would pose an imminent risk of spread of coronavirus. (PTI)
What are sero-surveys, and what do they tell us about the Covid-19 infection? So far, at least five sero-surveys have been reported from India – an early all-India survey, surveys in Delhi, Mumbai and Berhampur in Odissa, and now from Pune city. A duo of experts look at what these surveys have found
Top ten states with maximum caseload:
Union Home Minster Amit Shah has been admitted to AIIMS in New Delhi after complaining of “fatigue and body aches”, the hospital said on Tuesday. Shah had contracted Covid-19 on August 2. He later tested negative for the disease on August 14.
In non-Covid news, an orange alert has been issued in two districts on Maharashtra - Kolhapur and Satara - by the India Meteorological Department, warning of heavy to very heavy rainfall. The alert has been issued for two days, August 18 and 19. "The southwest monsoon will remain active over Maharashtra for the next 4-5 days which will cause strong spells of showers," an official told news agency PTI.
The first sero-survey conducted in Pune detected the prevalence of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in an average of 51.5 per cent of the people. Scientists and epidemiologists said the extensive spread was not unusual. Pune’s results can be compared to New Delhi, where 23 per cent had antibodies, and Mumbai, where the percentage was 57 per cent in slums and 16 per cent in non-slum areas. In Ahmedabad, it was 47 per cent.
“A similar trend was reflected in Pune as the number of cases by July was quite high here. We expected extensive spread of Covid-19 in selected areas with high incidence,” Dr Aurnab Ghose, associate professor at Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) told The Indian Express. He is also one of the principal investigators of the serosurveillance.
A Mumbai-based doctor approached the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court against a private hospital in Aurangabad on Monday, alleging that her father was not tested or treated for Covid-19 despite showing symptoms leading to his death last month. The petition filed by 36-year-old Sonal Kadam says her father Vaman Doiphode (63), a resident of Aurangabad, was admitted to Seth Nandlal Dhoot Hospital on July 8 after he suffered a fall the previous day at his residence. He was advised surgery for a fracture he had suffered. Read Sadaf Modak's report
Pune has more Covid-19 cases than Mumbai. On Monday, Pune had 1.32 lakh cases while Mumbai had 1.29 lakh infections. However, its death toll is half of Mumbai's. While Pune has reported 3,247 deaths, Mumbai has 7,173 deaths. In other news, Pune is the city with the most number of infections in India. Authorities in Pune attributed the rise in cases to higher testing. Read Amitabh Sinha explained on India's coronavirus numbers, and what they mean
Welcome to our live blog on the Covid-19 situation in Maharashtra. Here, we will track the latest news and updates from across the state. Maharashtra recorded 8,500 cases of the novel coronavirus on Monday, taking its tally beyond six lakh. With 6,04,358 cases, the state continues to have more than one fourth of India’s 26,47,664 infections. At least 228 people succumbed to the disease Monday; the state’s toll now stands at 20,265.