MUMBAI: Even as the drop in
Covid-19 cases continued in the state and city, the state government task force members said there was a need to stay vigilant against Covid-19 for another four to six weeks.
The state health department update on Friday said 3,431
new cases and 71
deaths were registered in the state on a single day, and the city saw only 596 cases and 11 deaths in the same period.
The total caseload in the state is 19 lakh, including 2.89 lakh in the city. The toll in the state is 49,129, including 11,056 deaths in the city since March.
The state recorded below 4,000 daily additions for the ninth consecutive day, with 4,000-plus cases reported on December 16 (4,304).
Of the 11 deaths in the city, nine had co-morbidities and eight were of patients more than 60 years of age. The doubling rate in the city is now 358 days and the recovery rate is 93%.
“Given the threat of the UK strain, there is a possibility of a surge in cases. There is also a high possibility of transmission due to the festive and marriage seasons,” state task force member Dr Shashank Joshi, who is dean of the Indian College of Physicians, said.
The period between December 23 and January 2 is crucial. “The effect of mingling in this period will be seen 15 days thereafter. So we need to be vigilant till the end of January,” Dr Joshi said.
Dr Rahul Pandit, who heads the ICU in Fortis Hospital, Mulund, and is a member of the state task force, said the drop in Covid numbers would be gradual and slow. “By June or July, when we have enough people vaccinated, we will see a good control on Covid-19,” Dr Pandit said.
Active cases reached 56,823 in the state on Friday. The active cases in the city were 8,218.
Pune and Thane districts registered more active cases than the city, with 14,145 and 10,246 cases, respectively. Hingoli, with active 82 cases, was the only district in the state with fewer than 100 active cases.
Over three days, recoveries showed a shrinking trend. On Friday, 1,427 persons recovered and were discharged from various hospitals, including 381 in the city. Last Wednesday, over 7,000 persons got discharged from various hospitals in the state.
State minister for public health Rajesh Tope said that the recovery rate in the state was now 94.4%. Overall, 18.06 lakh people have recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic in the state till date, said the minister.
Of the total 71 deaths in the state, 39 occurred in 48 hours and five were from the last week. The remaining 27 deaths occurred a week before.