Maharashtra records 985 Covid-19 deaths, highest in a day; CFR 1.5%

MUMBAI: While Covid-19 cases appear to have stabilised in Maharashtra, fatalities continue to rise alarmingly.
On Wednesday, 985 deaths were reported—the highest addition so far. The cumulative death figures showed a higher 1,035, though, as the state added 50 additional fatalities to the tally over and above the toll reported on Wednesday. With this, deaths in the state totalled 67,214, up from 66,179 on Tuesday.

The state has added 12,236 deaths this month—higher than 12,024 in September 2020, the peak of the first wave. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) added 220 deaths, of which 78 were from Mumbai and 142 from the rest of the region. Thane Municipal Corporation reported 92 deaths.
The daily case fatality rate is on a steady rise—up to 1.5% from 0.8% last week. Officials say the surge in deaths is due to data reconciliation of the total deaths, of which 392 are from the past 48 hours while the rest are more than one week old.
A state official said the deaths recorded by the state follow the big surge in cases seen in the past few weeks. “We expect the fatalities to remain as high as this or even surpass it. But a lot of deaths are old and not from the past 24 hours”.
In Mumbai, of the 78 deaths, only 40 were of those with comorbidities, suggesting that a near-equal number without any underlying health conditions succumbed. Thirty-four of the 78 deaths were of people aged between 40 and 60 years.
The state on Wednesday added 63,309 cases, taking the total caseload to 44.7 lakh. Mumbai, which was reporting under 4,000 cases for the past two days, recorded 4,926 on Wednesday taking the total to 6.4 lakh.
According to data submitted in the state cabinet, the weekly CFR of the state is also on the rise. The CFR was 0.9% in the week that ended April 25, up from 0.5% a week before.
Sindhudurg district reported a weekly CFR of 3.6% and Nanded 3.4%. Data shows it is not just the bigger districts such as Mumbai and Pune that are reporting deaths in big numbers. Even Nagpur and Aurangabad with a much lower population are clocking 80-90 deaths daily.
In Nashik circle, Nashik and Ahmednagar remained the big contributors, while in Pune circle, 149 of the 217 deaths came from the Pune district. From the Akola circle, Yavatmal has reported most deaths.
Dr Milind Kamble, dean of Government Medical College in Yavatmal, said the situation continues to be as grave as it was a month ago. The hospital is treating 614 patients on 577 beds. “What is worrying is young patients are coming late with a CT scan severity score of 17 and 18. They come by the 10th day and are impossible to salvage,” he said. He cited the example of a 45-year-old man who travelled nearly 100km to reach the hospital in a serious condition. “People who are symptomatic can progress very rapidly and hence they shouldn’t waste any time to seek care,” he said.
On a positive note, the rate of increase in active cases in the state has also declined due to the increase in discharges. The state on Wednesday discharged 61,181 people, taking the total discharges to 37.3 lakh.