KOLHAPUR: Sangli district has reported the fastest increase in daily and active Covid-19 cases among other districts of Kolhapur, Solapur and Satara in south Maharashtra from March 1 to April 1.
An analysis of the daily Covid and active cases in all the four district shows that Sangli has witnessed a 12.9-time increase in daily cases and 13.6-time spike in active cases within the last month.
On March 1, Sangli district had 22 cases, which increased to 284 by April 1. The active cases increased from 166 to a whopping 2,261. The district added 3,420 cases and 44 deaths during the last month. The mortality rate in the district was 1.2%.
The rapid increase in Covid cases has put a strain on the infrastructure. The Sangli district administration has reserved beds in seven private hospitals and appointed coordinators to ensure beds as well as ambulances are available for patients.
“This time, entire families are testing positive, which is a major cause for concern. Last time, we saw many did not get beds. However, this time around we are ensuring no beds are occupied by asymptomatic patients,” said Sangli district collector Abhijeet Chaudhary.
Solapur witnessed a rise of 6.9% in daily cases as well as in the number of active cases. The district is leading in the region with the highest number of daily cases, active cases, total cases and the number of deaths. Solapur district added 122 deaths and 9,272 Covid cases in March.
Satara district reported 54 deaths and 7,011 cases in the last one month. On other hand, Kolhapur district added 27 deaths and 1,735 cases during the same period.
Kolhapur district has the slowest rate of increase in the daily cases and active cases. The count of daily cases increased by 3.2 times while active cases by 2.6 times in April.
According to experts, the pandemic follows a 120-day cycle, which means all the districts are in different phases of the cycle. The spike in cases in Kolhapur district is steady and not as sharp as Sangli and other districts.
Kolhapur district administration officials have stepped up efforts to prepare for the worst-case scenario in view of the pandemic cycle.