MUMBAI: The daily tally of cases in Maharashtra could rise further. A senior state health official said, “We expect cases to increase to 15,000 daily,” adding that it’s unlikely to cross the September 2020 high of 20,000 daily. State officials have so far maintained that the surge isn’t caused by a new coronavirus variant.
Indeed, the state Covid update on Friday showed that cases in the Pune circle (2,070) and Nagpur circle (1,974) were rising steadily and getting closer to the Mumbai circle’s (2,135). In the Akola circle, where the present surge in cases was first noticed in Amravati and Yavatmal in the second half of February, 1,472 cases were detected. On February 26, 1,601 cases were registered from the Akola circle.
On Friday, state health officials added 53 deaths, but said only 28 occurred in the last 48 hours; the remaining took place over a week ago. Almost a year into the Covid pandemic in the state, the tally and toll now stand at 21.9 lakh and 52,293 deaths.
In Mumbai, experts said the Covid surge seems to have steadied at 1,000 cases daily. The tally and toll in the city are 3.3 lakh cases and 11,495 deaths so far.
“Mumbai seems to have plateaued. However, it will take another two to three weeks for a clearer picture to emerge,” said Dr Rahul Pandit, head of intensive care at Fortis Hospital, Mulund, and a member of the state task force on Covid.
With the number of active cases continuing to rise, the BMC health officials have instructed hospitals to revive their bed strength as a precautionary measure. “Most cases are asymptomatic and only need home isolation,” said a civic doctor.
However, Pandit said severe cases too are coming in. “My ICU is almost full these days,” he added.
In Navi Mumbai, 122 cases were detected on Friday, taking the tally to 56,079. Two deaths were also reported, taking the toll to 1,126. Panvel municipal area reported 84 cases, taking the case tally to 30,440. With no death reported on Friday, the toll remained at 648.