Maharashtra Covid lockdown news live: 20% oxygen for industrial use in Pune district
Daily Covid-19 cases seem to have stabilized at less than 16,000 in Maharashtra (15,229) for the last four days, with the test positivity rate dropping to 5.85% on Thursday. While deaths continued to be added in two instalments --daily (307) and those that are a week old (336) -- state officials said the toll still seems to be dropping in comparison to a fortnight back. The lockdown-like restrictions introduced in Maharashtra to curb the pandemic’s second wave have slowed down the economy and slashed the revenues of the state government by as much as 23% between April and May. Revenues were down by Rs 4,509 crore in this period, the latest data shows. Bombay high court bench at Aurangabad on Thursday directed the state to place before it “a ready reference chart” on June 10 to indicate how many mucormycosis patients were under treatment, the number of patients who have been cured and the number of deaths in the Marathwada region. The Pune Metropolitan Region continued to report under 2,000 new Covid-19 cases, with 1,864 people testing positive for the virus on Thursday. Stay with us for all live updates from across Maharashtra.Read Less
Maharashtra has so far reported 6003 cases of mucormycosis. 4,024 patients are under treatment while 1450 have recovered from the disease. 503 patients have died due to mucormycosis in the state. (ANI)
Bombay HC directs Maharashtra govt to pull up hospitals denying admission to Covid suspects
The Bombay high court has directed the Maharashtra government to take strict action against hospitals and medical centres that deny admission to deserving patients merely over lack of a positive RT-PCR Covid-19 test report.
About 43 per cent of 60 years plus population vaccinated against Covid-19; 37 per cent above 45 years inoculated so far: Govt. (PTI)
India has overtaken US in terms of number of people who received at least single dose of Covid-19 vaccine: Govt. (PTI)
So far, 5,763 cases of Black Fungus have been reported in Maharashtra and 476 people have died due to it: PRO, state health department. (ANI)
Maharashtra govt caps cost of treatment for mucormycosis in private hospitals.
Maha govt caps cost of treatment for #mucormycosis in pvt hospitals. "Rate of treatment for this disease in urban &… https://t.co/3hKNY77bS7
— TOI Mumbai (@TOIMumbai) 1622803260000Visa of foreigners stranded in India due to Covid-19 pandemic extended till August 31 on gratis basis or free of charge: MHA. (PTI)
Court seeks black fungus details in Marathwada
Bombay high court bench at Aurangabad on Thursday directed the state to place before it “a ready reference chart” on June 10 to indicate how many mucormycosis patients were under treatment, the number of patients who have been cured and the number of deaths in the Marathwada region. The state needs to be sensitive to the shortage of medicine in the region to treat the ‘black fungus’ said the HC and sought a chart on supply of key drug, Amphotericin-B, from June 2-9, date-wise.
Pune: 10 crore doses of Covishield sent from Lohegaon airport till May
More than 10 crore Covishield doses have been transported from the city airport to various states and some countries since January. Around 2.95 crore doses were sent in May alone, an airport official said. With vaccine production expected to increase from June, the transport count is expected to be higher.
Nine of 11 Vidarbha districts may open in first phase, if new plan is implemented
If the government implements the five-level unlock plan announced by minister of disaster management Vijay Wadettiwar, 9 out of 11 districts in Vidarbha region will be fully unlocked in the first phase. However, the chief minister’s office (CMO) has clarified that this plan is still under consideration, and will be implemented later in a phased manner. READ MORE
Late reporting issue among mucormycosis patients in Aurangabad
Stating that many patients of mucormycosis approach the doctors only when symptoms aggravate, dean of Government Dental College and Hospital in Aurangabad Dr. S P Dange said that early medical intervention can avoid irrevocable damage and deaths among such patients. “The black fungus infection originates from the nose itself and needs a group of specialists to cure if it goes unnoticed at the early stage. Around 50% patients treated at our facility said they approached hospital late out of fear of the disease or diagnostics, a mind-set which was also observed during early stages of Covid-19,” he said.
Active Covid-19 cases in country dip to 16,35,993
Union health ministry
Pune: Private hospitals urged to reduce charges for firms inoculating staff
Corporates and public officials from the district have now requested the state government to help reduce the per dose price of vaccines being charged by private hospitals for citizens and companies that have tie-ups with them. Currently, price per dose of Covishield given onsite at private hospitals is Rs 850 to Rs 1,000. Corporates said the charges per dose for staff (for on-campus drives) are in the range of Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,200. Most hospitals have received Covishield for their drives.
In Palghar district, the Covid-19 case count has gone up to 1,11,004, while the death toll is 2,129. (PTI)
Single-day spike of 1,32,364 Covid-19 infections, 2,713 fatalities push India's tally of cases to 2,85,74,350,death toll to 3,40,702: Govt (PTI)
Thane district's Covid-19 count rises by 675, death toll by 38
With the addition of 675 coronavirus positive cases, the infection count in Thane district of Maharashtra mounted to 5,19,682, an official said on Friday. These cases were reported on Thursday, he said. As the virus claimed the lives of 38 patients during the day, the death toll in the district rose to 9,370. The Covid-19 mortality rate of the district is 1.80 per cent, he added. (PTI)
20% oxygen for industrial use in Pune district
District collector Rajesh Deshmukh on Friday issued an order, permitting industrial use of 20% of the total oxygen produced in Pune. The daily oxygen production in the district is 355 metric tonnes, said the collector. Of the available oxygen, 80% would still be reserved for medical use, he said in a statement issued to the media. According to the notification, priority would be given to oxygen supply to hospitals in case the need arises. READ FULL STORY HERE
10cr doses of Covishield sent from Lohegaon airport till May
More than 10 crore Covishield doses have been transported from the city airport to various states and some countries since January. Around 2.95 crore doses were sent in May alone, an airport official said. With vaccine production expected to increase from June, the transport count is expected to be higher.
Help state get vaccines from abroad: Rajesh Tope to Centre
State health minister Rajesh Tope on Thursday said the Centre should help Maharashtra procure vaccines from foreign manufacturers, as there was no response to its global tender seeking five crore doses. He said the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) had relaxed some rules, but they would not help states much in procuring vaccines directly from the global manufacturers because the latter might want to deal only with the Centre. Tope said, “The state is willing to pay for the vaccines, but the Centre should facilitate them.”
In Pune district, 1st-jab coverage has reached only 37% of target
Out of the 57 lakh eligible beneficiaries in the district, only 21 lakh (37%) have been given a dose of the Covid-19 vaccines, data compiled till June 1 has shown. Civic officials in the PMR said coverage would have been wider if supply of vaccines to the region was steady. They said shortages have slowed down the vaccine drive, which had considerable momentum till early April.