A health worker takes a swab for Covid-19 testing in Mumbai on Tuesday.
(Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty)Maharashtra’s COVID-19 tally on Thursday crossed the 14 lakh-mark with the addition of 16,476 fresh cases, said a state health official. The states COVID-19 tally increased to 14,00,922, while 394 more deaths took the fatality count beyond the 37,000 mark to 37,056, he said.
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Mumbai city reported 2,352 positive cases during the day, which pushed its overall count to 2,07,620, while 43 fresh deaths raised the toll to 8,972, he said. Pune city added 1,069 COVID-19 cases, raising its tally to 1,56,783, while 25 new deaths took the toll to 3,553, the official said.
A second sero-survey in Mumbai conducted in mid-August has found that 45 per cent of the slum population surveyed, and 18 per cent in non-slum pockets, was exposed to coronavirus.
The latest findings are starkly different from the first survey in July, when 57 per cent people in slums and 16 per cent in non-slums were found exposed.
Outside a coffee shop in JM road in Pune on Tuesday. (Express photography by Arul Horizon)
A second sero-survey in Mumbai conducted in mid-August has found that 45 per cent of the slum population surveyed, and 18 per cent in non-slum pockets, was exposed to coronavirus.
The latest findings are starkly different from the first survey in July, when 57 per cent people in slums and 16 per cent in non-slums were found exposed.
Those part of the survey said the decline in sero prevalence— number of persons in a population who test positive for a specific disease— could be because an entirely different population was selected in the same wards where the first survey was undertaken.
The Maharashtra government is positive about reopening cinema halls and theatres but its priority is to ensure safety of citizens amid the COVID-19 pandemic, state Cultural Affairs Minister Amit Deshmukh said on Thursday. During a meeting with representatives of the Theatre Owners Association, Deshmukh said he would discuss the matter with Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and Revenue minister Balasaheb Thorat. Cinema halls and theaters have been shut since last six months in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Dussehra, Diwali, Christmas are the time when people make a beeline for theatres and cinema halls. This is a good time to restart them. The government is thinking how to reopen them as people's health and safety is paramount," he said. Deshmukh said at present, phase 5 of the unlock process is underway wherein hotels, restaurants, bars have been allowed to open in the state, but cinema halls and theatres will remain closed.
The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) has started operating 1,500 extra buses for students appearing for the common entrance test (CET) across Maharashtra from October 1 to 9, an official said on Thursday. As per a release issued by the corporation, its central office in Mumbai directed local offices across the state about operating extra buses. The common entrance test is being conducted by the Maharashtra government for admissions to engineering and other technical courses. For the exam, which is scheduled to be held in morning and afternoon sessions between October 1 and 9, extra buses will be operated for students as per their district-wise numbers, the release stated. As many as 63,284 students will appear for CET in the first phase, the transport authority said.
The COVID-19 tally in Maharashtra's Thane district has reached 1,75,012 with an addition of 1,938 new cases, an official said on Thursday. Besides, the death toll rose to 4,458 after 32 patients succumbed to the disease on Wednesday, he said. The number of COVID-19 cases in the district at the start of September was 1,25,352, and the tally has now crossed 1.75 lakh, the official said. The total number of fatalities at the start of September was 3,577, which has now gone up to 4,458, he said. As of now, there are 17,501 active COVID-19 cases in the district, while 1,53,053 patients have recovered.
Pune district reported 3,298 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, taking its COVID-19 count to 2,84,021 on Wednesday, a health official said. He said the death toll reached 6,529 with 84 more patients succumbing to the infection in the western Maharashtra district. Also, 1,431 patients were discharged from hospitals following recovery from the infection, the official said. "Of the 3,298 cases, 1,336 were reported from areas under Pune Municipal Corporation limits, where the count rose to 1,45,291 patients. "With 764 cases, Pimpri-Chinchwad's COVID-19 count increased to 78,081," he said. (PTI)
The COVID-19 tally in Maharashtra rose to 13,84,446 on Wednesday with the single-day addition of 18,317 fresh cases, the state health department said. With 481 deaths, the cumulative toll in the state mounted to 36,662, it said. While 237 of the 481 fatalities occurred in the last 48 hours, 115 patients had succumbed a week back. Another 129 deaths had occurred earlier, the department said. A total of 19,163 patients were discharged in the day after treatment, taking the count of recoveries to 10,88,322. The state now has 2,59,033 active cases, the department said.
Mumbai on Wednesday reported 2,654 fresh COVID-19 cases, its highest single-day addition, taking the total tally to 2,05,142, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said, adding that 46 fatalities took toll to 8,926. At 2,389, Mumbai had reported the highest number of new cases in a day on September 17, it said. A total of 2,066 patients were discharged in the last 24 hours, taking the cumulative count of recoveries to 1,69,268, the BMC said. The city now has 26,540 active cases.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said on Wednesday that it has ordered 72,000 vials of the Remdisevir injection for the treatment of critical COVID-19 patients. It has received the first batch of 10,000 vials which were distributed to various hospitals and jumbo (large-scale) COVID-19 treatment facilities in the city, the BMC said in a release. The highest 1,700 vials were handed over to the Director of Medical Education and major hospitals, 1,200 vials to Seven Hills Hospital and800 vials each to KEM, Sion and Nair hospitals in the city, it said in a release.
With over 2,000 new Covid-19 cases being reported every day, Mumbai’s positivity rate is again on the rise, with senior BMC officials attributing it to the reopening of economic activities and movement of people across the state.
Month-wise data shows the city’s positivity rate – the number of people testing positive against the total number of tests being conducted in a month – showed an “optimistic decline” from 18.3 per cent in June to 17.9 per cent in July and to 14 per cent in August, but in September it climbed back to 17 per cent. Even the number of cases, which witnessed a slide from June to August, saw a rise this month. Mumbai recorded 55,096 cases from September 1 to September 28 – a rise from 31,521 cases in August and 36,626 in July.