A ticket collector checking the vaccination status of passengers, in Pune. (Express Photo by Arul Horizon)Pune Live News: Pune district recorded the highest number of Covid-19 cases during the third wave so far, detecting 11,748 new infections on Tuesday. The district also reported eight deaths, taking the total to 19,310, the highest in the state. With cases in Mumbai showing a sharp decline, Pune has now emerged as the district with maximum daily case count in Maharashtra.
Meanwhile, the ‘HAR Ghar Dastak’ Covid-19 vaccination campaign has resulted in more than 13 lakh doses being administered in the last two-and-a-half months in Pune district. Of the 13.60 lakh doses, more than four lakh were administered to first-time beneficiaries while the rest 9.5 lakh got their second dose of the Covid-19 jab. Also, a day after the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) said it will not allow unvaccinated commuters to travel in its buses, Tuesday it said it will make an exception to the rule for children.
In other news, the police in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad have intensified the crackdown against those not wearing masks in crowded places and have fined over 7,000 people over the last one week. From January 11 to 17, the Pune city police have fined 5,701 people for not wearing masks, while the Pimpri-Chinchwad police have taken action against 1,452.
A worker fumigates the premises of a circus tent before a show at Sinhagad road on Tuesday. (Express)
Pune city's maximum temperature will increase owing to clear sky conditions on Wednesday. The IMD has forecast the day temperature to remain around 30 degrees.
The minimum temperatures remained marginally above normal, with Shivajinagar recording 12.2 degrees, Pashan - 13.3 degrees and Lohegaon - 13.3 degrees Celsius on the day.
The city's air quality will remain under moderate category and the AQI value is forecast to be 128.
Eight patients and 44 staffers have been infected with coronavirus since January 1 at the Regional Mental Hospital in Yerawada. Last year six patients died of Covid and 386 of them were infected at the regional mental hospital. Due to the transmissible nature of the Omicron Covid variant, authorities are taking extra precautionary measures by setting up separate isolation wards, one each for males and females. Another two quarantine wards have been set up for patients who are newly admitted to the hospital. Read more
The Bombay High Court ruling on Tuesday to commute the death sentence of two sisters Renuka Shinde and Seema Gavit to life imprisonment, brings yet another turn in the story that had shaken the country in the mid-90s. The two women are currently lodged in Yerawada Central Prison and who along with their now deceased mother were charged and convicted for kidnapping and killing several children between 1990 and 1996 at various places. Read more
The police in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad have intensified the crackdown against those not wearing masks in crowded places and have fined over 7,000 people over the last one week. Following the Maharashtra government’s order announcing stringent curbs amid surging Covid cases, the Pune city police and Pimpri-Chinchwad police had on January 10 issued executive orders imposing a night curfew between 11 pm and 5 am and restrictions on gatherings between 5 am to 11 pm. Read more
A fire broke out at a grocery shop in Pune’s Dattawadi Chowk early on Wednesday. A team of Pune fire brigade officials rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control. No casualties were reported. Fire officer Rajesh Jagtap said, “We got a call around 6.15 am regarding a fire at the Balaji Kirana Store, a grocery shop at Dattawadi Chowk. Our team reached the spot quickly.” Read more
The first ever survey on migration in Maharashtra has thrown some interesting facts on various aspects of this complex process. While a greater percentage of pregnant women do travel to their mother’s home, large variability exists between districts. Chandrapur has seen a higher percentage of pregnant women for the above reason, while districts like Nandurbar, Jalna and Amravati see much higher migration of pregnant women for work either in the same district or out. Read more
The Pune Platform for Covid Response has urged the municipal authorities to open parks and gardens to allow people, especially senior citizens, to do their exercise. Sudhir Mehta, member of the platform and president of the Mahratta Chamber of Commerce Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA), said they have made this recommendation after consultation with doctors on their platform.
Most parks and gardens in the city have been closed since the start of the third wave of Covid-19. This, Mehta said, has pushed many people, especially senior citizens, to do exercise on roads and footpaths. Mehta said this was fraught with danger as chances of accidents are higher. Doctors on the platform have in fact talked about allowing parks to be made operational as with mask and social distancing, chances of infection would be low. Read more
Pune now has over 68,000 active cases, again the highest in Maharashtra. This is, still well below the number seen at the height of the second wave when, at one time, the district had over 1.2 lakh active cases. An overwhelming number of current cases, over 66,000, are in home isolation, with a little over 2,500 infected people being admitted in hospitals.
Pune district recorded the highest number of Covid-19 cases during the third wave so far, detecting 11,748 new infections on Tuesday. The district also reported eight deaths, taking the total to 19,310, the highest in the state. With cases in Mumbai showing a sharp decline, Pune has now emerged as the district with maximum daily case count in Maharashtra.