Maharashtra Covid-19 lockdown news live: Fear of shutdown sparks scramble for essentials

Retailers said citizens were crowding grocery shops to stock up on essential items, such as rice, flour and pulses, following apprehensions of a lockdown because of the recent spike in Covid-19 cases. The retailers said they had witnessed such a rush when lockdown was imposed last year. Sachin Nivangune, president of the Pune District Retail Traders’ Association, said, “Ever since words started going around about a lockdown, the retailers are buying more stock of essentials and other products of use from wholesalers, fearing that a repeat of last year should not occur. People are also buying more than usual amounts of grocery items so that they do not fall short of anything in the coming days.” Nivangune said only grocery products and essentials were being bought in higher quantities. “Other businesses, like clothes, cutlery and takeaway orders in restaurants, have been affected adversely during the past few days with a significant drop in sales. This is because most people are mostly spending on essential products,” he said. READ FULL STORY HERE

It can be a case of SARS-COV-2 reinfection if a recovered person tests positive for Covid again — either via RT-PCR or antigen test — after an interval of 102 days and with one negative molecular assay in between, a study by the Indian Council of Medical Research has said. The research has been accepted for publication in the journal, Epidemiology and Infection. Dr Samiran Panda, head of ICMR’s epidemiology and communicable diseases division, said, “Genome sequencing has been an investigative criterion to confirm reinfection. But genomic evidence is resource-intensive and not always feasible. Our objective then was to develop a comprehensive, working epidemiological definition of SARS-CoV-2 re-infection.” The study used data of suspected reinfection cases from several countries, including India.

The Covid-19 vaccination drive in Pune rural has picked up pace with at least 15,000 doses being administered daily over the past one week. According to the District Health Office, 2.6 lakh beneficiaries have so far received at least dose across Pune rural — the number includes over one lakh elderly who have received their first doses. READ MORE HERE

With the Covid-19 vaccine programme expanding to cover everyone over 45 years of age from April 1, the health department has revised the district’s vaccination target for the next two months to 28 lakh beneficiaries. The previous target base was 17 lakh. Sanjay Deshmukh, assistant director (medical), Pune circle, said the administration’s earlier inoculation target — before the inclusion of above-45s — was 17 lakh people by the end of April. The 17 lakh includes 15 lakh senior citizens and two lakh from the healthcare and frontline worker category. READ MORE HERE

Railway authorities on Wednesday pledged to ensure strict adherence to the Covid-19 protocols at all stations in the state following the recent spike in nCoV cases. Renu Sharma, divisional railway manager (DRM) of the Pune rail division, said, “Among the measures will be continuous announcements to alert passengers about the pandemic, temperature screenings, strict checks on social distancing and masks norms.” She said the division had no information about any lockdown in the state.

The Pune Metropolitan Region (PMR) added 8,605 Covid-19 cases on Wednesday, it's highest since the pandemic began last year. Besides, as many as 5,749 patients recovered in the region and 56 succumbed to the infection in the last 24 hours. The region’s overall recoveries have reached 4.62 lakh, while its caseload now stands at 5.34 lakh. A report released by district health officer Bhagwan Pawar stated that about 26,123 samples were tested in the region on Wednesday, taking the total tests in PMR above 28.86 lakh. The death count in the region climbed to 9,974 till Wednesday evening. On Wednesday, the region’s active tally stood at 61,909, including 45,754 patients in home isolation. READ MORE

On Wednesday, 39,544 Covid cases were added in the state, the second highest daily tally so far, taking the total caseload to 28.12 lakh. It is nearly the same as Germany, which is the 10th worst affected country with 28.16 lakh cases. Worryingly, Maharashtra reported 227 deaths, a significant jump from 139 fatalities a day before. Wednesday’s toll is the highest in 146 days, since November 5 (256). In absolute numbers, monthly fatalities are on the rise, but the case fatality rate is dipping. In March, the state added 2,495 deaths and reported a CFR of 0.4%, as against 1,072 deaths in February and a CFR of 0.8%. At its peak in September, the state’s fatality rate was 2.1% with 1,271 deaths. Though the state breached the September high in cases in March, deaths were five times fewer. READ MORE HERE