Corona deaths jump 44% in Maharashtra, a worry in Mumbai too

MUMBAI: Maharashtra reported lower daily cases (40,956) for the second day in a row on Tuesday, but Covid fatalities at 793 reported a 44% jump from Monday (549). Fatalities remained a worry in the city too, with 51 deaths recorded on Tuesday. However, cases stayed under 2,000 (1,717) for consecutive days, taking the total to 6.8 lakh.
In the 11 days of May, nearly 800 people have lost their lives to Covid, taking the total fatalities in Mumbai to 13,906. Of the 51 deaths on Tuesday, six were among those below 40, and 20 were between 40 and 60 years.
Additional municipal commissioner Suresh Kakani said there has been a detailed discussion with the state task force about the deaths. “We anticipate that deaths will remain high for another few weeks. While our regular isolation beds and even oxygen support beds are emptying, the ICU occupancy continues to be as high as 92%,” he said.
A senior doctor from Nair echoed him. Of the 2,996 ICU beds, 2,761 were occupied as of Tuesday. KEM hospital dean Dr Hemant Deshmukh said despite the dip in cases, they would maintain the Covid wards. Of the 480 Covid beds in the Parel hospital, around 190 are currently occupied. “We are in a better position bed-wise because the admissions have majorly declined,” he said.
The city’s case doubling rate has jumped to 170 days now, and the daily positivity rate has dropped to 6% on Tuesday from 9% on April 30. The state’s positivity rate stood at 18.8% on Tuesday, down from nearly 22% till last week. The total cases are at 51.7 lakh and fatalities rose to 77,191.
The state cabinet will discuss the extension of the lockdown-like restrictions in the state on Wednesday. “Ine thing I can say is that there will not be a complete relaxation soon. Whenever it is decided to open up sectors, it will be done gradually,” said public health minister Rajesh Tope.
The state on Tuesday discharged 72,000 people, taking the overall count of recoveries to 45.4 lakh. This has also led to a dip in active cases in the state.