Cities such as Mumbai, Pune, Nashik and Thane, which were the major contributors to the state’s daily tally of Covid, have witnessed a gradual drop in cases in the last 20 days. (Express Photo) WITH THE flattening of the pandemic curve in the third wave, the weekly positivity rate of Maharashtra has dropped drastically to 6.4 per cent which was 22.9 per cent in the middle of January.
The third wave was mostly dominated by the new variant of SARS-Cov-2, Omicron, which is more transmissible than its predecessor Delta variants. This flared up the infection rate in the state. Between January 10-16, a total of 13,45,494 tests were conducted, of which 3,08,376 or 22.9 per cent samples were detected with Covid-19.
However, with the waning of the third wave, the weekly positivity rate has slipped 3.5-times. As per the state’s data, between February 4-10, a total of 9,10,929 tests were conducted, of which 57,977 or 6.4 per cent tested positive.
“The state has passed the peak of the third wave. The number of daily cases, which were hovering around 40,000, has now dropped below 7,000 cases. In the next one week, the positivity rate will drop further,” said Dr Pradeep Awate, state surveillance officer. “With Omicron replacing the Delta variant which was more severe, we believe, it may mark the end of the pandemic,” he said.
Cities such as Mumbai, Pune, Nashik and Thane, which were the major contributors to the state’s daily tally of Covid, have witnessed a gradual drop in cases in the last 20 days. Between January 10-16, Nashik registered 35.4% weekly positivity rate, followed by Pune with 34.2%. Thane recorded 29.4% while the weekly positivity rate was 21.8% in Mumbai. After nearly 20 days, the weekly positivity rate has dropped to 1.4% in Mumbai, 8.5% in Nashik, 13% in Pune and 2.7% in Thane.
However, with the gradual spread of the virus to other parts of the state, especially the rural regions, 24 districts are still recording higher weekly positivity rate than that of the state. Among them, five districts—Amravati (22.6%), Hingoli (14.8%), Nagpur (14.1%), Nandurbar (14.1%) and Wardha (13.3%) — are a cause of concern for recording the highest positivity rate.
Public health experts attribute it to the ‘thick tail’ spread among districts which witnessed the peak of the third wave late. “Each district has their own peak period. Firstly, it started with Mumbai, then Pune and Thane. So, as the virus spreads further, some districts will record higher positivity rate but it is not worrisome,” said Dr Awate.
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