Maharashtra reported 23,446 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, its second-highest single-day surge yet, taking its tally to 9,90,795.

With 495 more deaths — 448 deaths were reported on Thursday, while 47 were from an earlier period — the death toll has risen to 28,282. Of the latest deaths, 222 were reported in the last 48 hours, while 140 occurred last week. The remaining 133 occurred in the period prior to last week, said State Health Department authorities.

Rise in recoveries

The active cases have risen to 2,61,432, while the total recoveries has surged to 7,00,715 with 14,253 patients being discharged. “The State’s recovery rate stands at 70.72%, while the case fatality rate has marginally reduced to 2.85%,” said State Surveillance Officer Dr. Pradeep Awate.

Pune reported a consecutive record-high surge of nearly 6,000 cases to take its total case tally to 2,18,502. The district reported 50 deaths to take its toll to 4,634. As per the Pune district administration, the number of active cases has breached 38,500 mark.

2,371 new cases in Mumbai

Mumbai reported a spike of 2,371 cases to take its case load to 1,63,115, of which 26,629 are active. With 38 fatalities, the city’s death toll has risen to 8,023.

Nagpur district in Vidarbha reported another spike of more than 1,700 cases, taking the district’s tally to 44,700, of which 19,294 are active. With 50 deaths, the district’s total death toll has shot up to 1,193. With nearly 20,000 active cases, the district’s cases have almost doubled in less than a fortnight, causing a major strain on its overstretched health infrastructure, which is acutely feeling a shortage of ventilators and critical care beds.

In the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Thane reported 786 new cases as its tally crossed the 52,500 mark, while seven new deaths saw its toll rise to 1,590. Kalyan-Dombivli reported 18 deaths and 562 cases to take its total toll to 707 and tally to 37,073.

Sharp surge in Satara

In western Maharashtra, Satara district reported its highest single-day surge in cases and deaths. With 1,017 new cases, its tally surged to 21,674, of which 8,064 are active, while 72 new deaths took its death toll to 525.

Neighbouring Sangli reported a spike of more than 1,000 cases, taking the district’s case load to 21,955, of which 8,356 are active. With 22 deaths, the district’s death toll has touched 654. Kolhapur reported 540 new cases, taking its total tally to 30,609, of which 9,506 are active. A spike of 39 deaths saw the district’s death toll rise to 876.

Nashik district reported more than 675 fresh cases as its total tally breached the 50,000 mark to reach 50,341, of which 10,244 are active. With eight deaths, the district’s toll crossed the 1,000-mark to reach 1,026.

Record spike in Jalgaon

Neighbouring Jalgaon reported a record-high spike of 1,089 fresh cases and 14 new deaths. The district’s total case tally has risen to 34,227, of which 8,280 are active, while the death toll has now climbed to 996. Ahmednagar reported 556 new cases as its cumulative cases rose to 26,912, of which 5,867 are active. With 15 deaths, the toll has climbed to 387.

“Of a total of 49,74,558 laboratory samples tested so far, 9,90,795 (19.9%) have returned positive. Nearly 91,000 samples across the State were tested in the last 24 hours,” Dr. Awate said.

A total of 16,30,701 people across the State are in home quarantine and 38,220 are in institutional quarantine.