Mumbai: Maharashtra on Wednesday reported 23,179 fresh cases of COVID-19, with this the total number of cases in the state rose to 23,70,507. In the last 24 hours, the state has also registered 84 deaths and 9,138 discharges. India, on the other hand, logged 28,903 new Covid-19 cases and 188 fatalities in the last 24 hours, with five states driving up the daily cases.
Maharashtra alone accounts for 61.8 percent of the daily new cases. It is followed by Kerala with 1,970 while Punjab reported 1,463 new cases. Five states – Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu – collectively account for 71.10 percent of the new cases.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, on the other hand, has sought approval for starting more vaccination centres to expedite inoculation in the state and demanded that Mumbai-based Haffkine Institute be allowed to produce the COVID-19 vaccine. According to an official statement, Thackeray raised the demand during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s interaction via video conferencing with chief ministers of some states amid the surge in COVID-19 cases. The PM promptly said institutes in all states which can produce the vaccine will be encouraged, according to the statement.
To contain the spread of the virus, the Maharashtra government issued a notification stating that private establishments that do not follow the standard operating procedure (SOP) will be shut down till the pandemic continues to be notified as a disaster by the Centre.
The state government also said that norms must be followed by private establishments such as theatres, restaurants, malls, wedding halls and private offices. Multiplexes and restaurants have been allowed to function at 50% capacity and allowing more than the stipulated number will also amount to a violation.
As many as 30 students and a teacher from an ashram school have tested positive for coronavirus in Maharashtra’s Palghar district, an official from the health department said on Wednesday. The cases came to light after a couple of students displayed symptoms of the viral infection earlier this week, the official from the taluka medical office said.