COVID-19: Maharashtra has seven high-burden districts; less than 10 active cases in six districts

MUMBAI: Just seven districts, including Pune, account for bulk of the COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra, while half a dozen other districts have less than ten active cases currently.

This information was revealed in a presentation made before Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and his cabinet colleagues on Wednesday.

Maharashtra, the worst coronavirus-affected state in the country, has 36 districts.

There is no active COVID-19 case in Nandurbar district as of now, while Dhule, Washim, Yavatmal, Bhandara, Wardha and Gondia districts have less than ten coronavirus patients under treatment, said an official.

Districts such as Parbhani, Hingoli, Nanded, Amravati, Akola, Buldana, Chandrapur and Gadchiroli have less than 100 active cases of the infection.

Seven districts - Satara, Sangli, Ahmednagar, Pune, Osmanabad, Solapur and Sindhudurg - have higher number of COVID-19 cases than others and account for most of the infections in the state, he said.

The state's weekly COVID-19 positivity rate was 2.44 per cent, the official said.

In the last few days, the coronavirus growth rate in Ratnagiri and Kolhapur districts was showing worrying trend, but now it has come down even below 2.44 per cent, he said.

Commenting on vaccination, the official said, "As many as 5.07 crore people have received at least the first dose of the vaccine. More than 50 per cent of the population above 45 has been inoculated with at least one dose. The vaccination percentage for the 18-44 age group was 25 per cent, while 1.33 crore people in Maharashtra have been fully vaccinated so far, which is a record at national level," he said.

The state saw vaccination of 9.64 lakh people on August 14, which was a record in itself, he added.

As part of the state government's efforts to revive and support economic activities, several relaxations have been granted, but with COVID-19 protocols, he said.