Maharashtra News Live Updates: MNS chief Raj Thackeray 'postpones' Ayodhya trip

More than 5km traffic jam on Sion Panvel highway towards Mumbai due to a dumper accident over Vashi creek bridge during the pickup hours from Nerul to Vashi tall naka in Navi Mumbai on Friday. (Photo: Kk Choudhary)

MNS chief Raj Thackeray 'postpones' Ayodhya trip

Five people have died due to drowning in Chaskaman Dam in Khed Tehsil of Pune district.

MNS chief Raj Thackeray stays Ayodhya visit temporarily

Bandra Unit of Mumbai Anti Narcotics Cell arrests a Nigerian drugs peddler from the Goregaon area and recovers 400gram of MD drugs from him. The value of the seized drugs is Rs 60 lakh in the international market. Case registered under NDPS Act.

Dr Rahul Pandit, member of the state Covid task force, said the daily tally is no longer among the ‘goal posts’ marking the severity of Covid-19. “The new goal posts are hospitalisations, the number of patients needing oxygen and deaths. None of these markers are high or at worrisome levels,” said Dr Pandit.

Dr Awate said the patterns showed there are no clusters in Mumbai, Pune or Thane. “Over 85% of the cases are asymptomatic and there is no rise in hospitalisation or deaths,” he added.

“Cases are rising in Mumbai, Thane and Pune, but our surveillance shows there are no worrying patterns,” said state surveillance officer Dr Pradip Awate. Apart from Mumbai, Pune (37) and Thane (18) have double-digit tallies while the rest of the districts have less than five cases each.

Public health officials, though, are not worried about the rise in cases or the possibility of a fourth wave. The Covid pandemic hit Maharashtra in March 2020 and has since claimed 1. 47 lakh lives, including 19,566 in Mumbai.

The state daily tally increased accordingly to 316 cases on Thursday. A day prior, too, the state had recorded over 300 (307) cases after a 67-day gap.

Mumbai's daily Covid count crosses 200-mark after 3-month gap