Mumbai witnessed a slight rise in its daily COVID-19 cases on Wednesday. 830 new cases and 11 fatalities were reported in the last 24 hours. The count now stands at 7,18,513 with 15,227 deaths so far. Meanwhile, the doubling rate has increased to 727 days and the weekly growth rate has dropped to 0.09 per cent.
Maharashtra also witnessed a marginal rise in COVID-19 cases on Wednesday. 10,107 new cases and 237 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours. The tally now stands at 59,34,880 with 1,15,390 fatalities. However, for the seventh consecutive day, the state has added 999 fatalities after reconciliation.
Dr Subhash Salunkhe, who is the advisor to the government of Maharashtra on COVID-19 management, and a resident of Pune, said, “Even before Mumbai, Pune had travellers coming from the Middle East and China, who were infected with the virus. They infected the locals and it subsequently spread to the semi-urban and rural pockets.” Salunke attributed the high mortality rate to those citizens coming from peripheral areas.
“Many of the citizens living in peripheral areas, which lacked proper hospitals, thronged to Pune for treatment in the second wave. However, since many were late in admitting themselves, they succumbed to the virus, resulting in a high death rate,” said Dr Salunkhe.