The Assembly session underway in Maharashtra.Maharashtra, Mumbai, Pune Coronavirus News Live Updates: At least two MLAs and 37 government staffers who were to attend the Monsoon Session of the Maharashtra legislature from Monday have tested positive for Covid-19. Sources said that while around 2,200 people, including legislators and government officials, have been tested since Saturday, the reports of some are yet to come in.
On Sunday, the state recorded the highest single-day spike of 23,350 virus cases, taking the overall tally to 9,07,212, health department said. The death count in the state reached 26,604 with 328 people succumbing to the infection, including 243 fatalities in the last 48 hours. A total of 7,826 patients were discharged in the day, raising the count of recoveries in the state to 6,44,400, the department said.
With unlock 4.0 coming into effect, for the first time this monsoon, the Air Quality Index (AQI) in the city on Sunday reached 100, or moderate category.
Sharad Pawar leaves after a review meeting on Covid in Pune on Saturday. (Express Photo: Ashish Kale)
With some members of the Tablighi Jamaat pleading guilty to smaller charges to expedite their return to their countries and some being recently discharged by court, many such foreign nationals still stranded in Maharashtra say their extended stay in the country was a lesson in patience. From farmers, shopkeepers, engineers, IT professionals, retired government officials, teachers to small businessmen, many people against whom cases were filed on alleged charges of violation of Covid-19 restrictions and visa norms in the state await trials. Many also await exit formalities to conclude before they can return home to their families.
Chaotic scenes were witnessed in the Maharashtra Vidhan Bhavan premises as several MLAs were not allowed inside since their coronavirus test reports were not available, PTI reported. Former speaker Haribhau Bagade and other legislators, who were not able to enter the Assembly, complained to state Deputy Chief minister Ajit Pawar when he arrived there. Pawar called legislature secretary Rajendra Bhagwat and asked him to ensure that all legislators whose test reports are negative be allowed inside at the earliest. "Check the badges of members and their test reports first. Many members have got their tests done privately, allow them in if their reports are negative," Pawar told the legislature staff.
International passengers, who have to take connecting flights from Mumbai, will have to undergo reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests for Covid-19 at the airport on arrival, fresh guidelines issued by the state government on Sunday said. “They (passengers) can get tested and will be allowed to take connecting flights on having a negative test report,” the guideline states. Those found positive may not be allowed to take the connecting flight and sent for institutional quarantine in Mumbai, it further reads. The state government has also advised passengers to book connecting flights accordingly, preferably with a time gap of at least 8-12 hours, as an RT-PCR test takes 7 to 8 hours to generate the report.
Pune city in Maharashtra reported 2,093 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking its total infection count to 1,05,905, a health official said on Sunday. The number of fatalities reached 2,512 with 44 people succumbing to the infection, he said. A total of 1,569 patients were discharged in the day.
At least two MLAs and 37 government staffers who were to attend the Monsoon Session of the Maharashtra legislature from Monday have tested positive for Covid-19. Sources said that while around 2,200 people, including legislators and government officials, have been tested since Saturday, the reports of some are yet to come in. Maharashtra’s legislators are set to converge at the Vidhan Bhavan in Mumbai for a two-day Monsoon Session – the first since the pandemic – amid strict safety measures place by the Legislative Secretariat. “The number of those infected may increase further as some MLAs have tested themselves at their district headquarters and the reports are yet to be compiled,” said an official, adding that the final figure of how many have been infected would be known on Monday.
Biomedical waste generated across the state increased by 45 per cent till end-May as compared to the pre-Covid-19 period, a pandemic impact study by the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) has revealed. The study compared the biomedical waste generated before the pandemic and during the lockdown, between March 21 and June 1. Read More
After a slew of resignations from doctors and nurses, Lifeline, the agency appointed to run the jumbo Covid facility at College of Engineering Pune (COEP), has decided to withdraw from the task of managing the hospital. The private agency has conveyed its inability to run the hospital “in the face of intense political pressure and drama” that has unfolded since the hospital started functioning more than 10 days ago. Read More
The state police force recorded the highest single-day spike in Covid-19 cases once again with 511 police personnel and staff testing positive for the novel coronavirus on Saturday. The police force also reported seven deaths on the same day. Read More
International passengers who have a connecting flight from Mumbai and are not carrying a Covid-19 negative report will now have to undergo RT-PCR tests at the airport, the Maharashtra government said on Sunday.
If the test report comes positive, the passenger may not be allowed to take the flight and will be sent for institutional quarantine in Mumbai, said the government guidelines. This is applicable as of now only for transit passengers who want to take an onward connecting flight.
“They can get tested and will be allowed to take a connecting flight on having negative test report,” the guideline read.
Maharashtra on Sunday recorded the highest single-day spike of 23350 cases, taking the state’s COVID-19 tally to 907212, an official said. The death toll in the state reached 26604 after 328 fatalities were reported in the day.
The COVID-19 count in Nagpur increased by 1,343 on Sunday to reach 39,482, while 54 deaths took the toll to 1,315, an official said. So far, 27,268 people have been discharged, including 1,811 on Sunday, leaving the district with 10,899 active cases, he added.
NCP leader Ramraje Naik-Nimbalkar has offered two properties, including a grand royal heritage palace located in Phaltan in western Maharashtra's Satara district, to the administration to set up COVID-19 centres. Nimbalkar wrote to the Satara district administration about the decision.
"We have offered Vikram Vilas, a bungalow in Songaon owned by my cousin Raghunath Raje Naik Nimbalkar, as well as Mudhoji Manmohan Rajwada, a heritage palace in Phaltan, to the district administration," he told PTI.
"There are several rooms in the palace and it can be turned into a temporary COVID-19 centre. Cases are increasing in rural centres and infrastructure is lacking so it was decided by the trust to offer these two properties," Nimabalkar said.
International Passengers who have connecting flight from Mumbai will have to take RT PCR test for Covid 19. State government issued the guideline on Sunday.
If the test comes positive passenger may not be allowed to take the flight and will be sent for Institutional quarantine in Mumbai, read the guideline. It may be noted that this is applicable as of now only for transit passengers who want to take onward connecting flight and do not have Covid 19 test report with them.
"They can get tested and will be allowed to take connecting flight on having negative test report," read the guideline.
Malls and market complexes in Mira Bhayander civic limits in Thane district can open from Monday as per an order issued by municipal commissioner Vijay Rathod. The order, issued on Sunday under 'Mission Begin Again' to gradually ease lockdown restrictions, is applicable to establishments in non-containment zones of Mira Bhayander Municipal Corporation.
The Pune Municipal Corporation has decided to deploy additional doctors and nurses at a newly-created COVID-19 jumbo facility following complaints of shortage of manpower there, a senior civic official said. Last week, a news channel journalist died at the facility, set up in the premises of the College of Engineering in Maharashtra. His family members alleged that he did not get a cardiac ambulance in time.
Following his death, there were allegations about mismanagement at the jumbo hospital. Pune Municipal Commissioner Vikram Kumar had also sought issuance of show-cause notice to the agency operating the facility. (PTI)
The COVID-19 pandemic has popularised the concept of work from home, but Mumbai professionals say space crunch in apartments and lack of robust internet connectivity has hampered their work, though saving on travel time has been an advantage for some.
Many people also complain of lack of professional environment and privacy at home, but say this is the new normal which they have to accept.
Vijay Singh, a city-based journalist, told PTI that while working from home, he has been facing issues like poor internet and mobile phone connectivity. 'Work from home has become a compulsion with the COVID-19 numbers going up,' he says. Varun Singh, founder of Squarefeatindia, a real estate news portal, says lack of proper working space and privacy are a big hindrance as most of the homes in Mumbai are small.
Actor Arjun Kapoor today tested positive for Covid-19. Taking to Instagram, he said: "It is my duty to inform all of you that I have tested positive for coronavirus. I am feeling ok and I'm asymptomatic. I have isolated myself at home under the advice of doctors and authorities and will be under home quarantine. I thank you all in advance for your support and I will keep you all updated about my health in the days to come."
Maharashtra reported the fastest growth is coronavirus infection in August, registering over 3.70 lakh cases, a senior state health official said. According to data of the Maharashtra health department, the state reported 3,76,587 Covid-19 cases last month, 2,41,820 cases in July and 1,04,748 cases in June. "On August 1, the total number of Covid-19 cases in the state was 4,31,719, which jumped to 8,08,306 on September 1. This is probably the fastest growth of cases in the state since January," the health official was quoted as saying by PTI.
The Pune Municipal Corporation has decided to deploy additional doctors and nurses at the Covid jumbo facility following complaints of shortage of manpower there, a senior civic official said. Last week, a journalist died at the facility, set up in the premises of the College of Engineering. His family members alleged that he did not get a cardiac ambulance in time. Following his death, there were allegations about mismanagement at the jumbo hospital. Pune Municipal Commissioner Vikram Kumar had also sought issuance of show-cause notice to the agency operating the facility. Pune's additional municipal commissioner Rubal Agarwal in a statement on Saturday dismissed rumours that doctors and nurses were leaving the facility. "There is no truth init. To address the issue of manpower shortage at the 800-bed dedicated Covid-19 facility, the Pune Municipal Corporation has decided to provide an additional50 doctors and 120 paramedics," she was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
A campaign to keep men away from brothels has garnered over 700 signatures from local residents in Kamathipura. However, a prominent NGO working with commercial sex workers has criticised the residents’ campaign as being discriminatory and without any scientific basis. Over 1,000 local residents had written to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and BMC Commissioner Iqbal Chahal last month fearing that “thousands of customers” would visit Kamathipura every day once the lockdown eased. “These customers will infect the entire area. These customers visit shops around the area and live in other parts of the city, they will infect the entire city… It will make Kamathipura a hotspot of coronavirus cases,” the letter stated. Local Congress MLA Amin Patel and BJP municipal councillor Atul Shah said they were unaware of the issue as local residents had not approached them. “I will speak to the people who have written the letter and address their grievances,” Patel said.