Maharashtra weekly test positivity rate 11%, 5 districts have most Covid cases

PUNE: Maharashtra’s weekly test positivity rate for Covid-19 is now 11%, a four-month high. The state has been reporting around 4,000 daily cases and has over 20,000 patients currently undergoing treatment.
June has seen a surge in caseload. During the first week of the month, the WPR was just 4.7%.
Mumbai (16%), Palghar (15.8%), Thane (14.9%), Pune (13.8%) and Raigad (7.9%) have higher WPRs than the state average — they also have the most active cases. The remaining 30 districts though, have WPRs below 5%.
The data was submitted by the state health department during a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
“Though active cases have risen in the state, the percentage of asymptomatic cases and those in home isolation has remained the same in the five districts,” said a senior health official. Officials blamed the rise in caseload on deviations from Covid-appropriate behaviour and increased population movement towards cities.
“We have a huge migrating population which regularly travels to cities where the infection rate is high,” one official said.
But hospitalisation has stayed near lows. Some 4.5% of cases are currently in hospitals. “Most cases are asymptomatic,” a senior health official confirmed.
Daily Covid testing has also increased in the state — from 25,000 to about 37,900.
State task force member Dr Shashank Joshi called for focus on cluster outbreaks and tracking of all hospitalisations, ICU admissions and deaths. “The basics of Omicron also still apply, which is mainly isolation, tracking, and treatment,” he said.
Health officials are preparing for high inflow of patients. A doctor in Pune said, “We are seeing faster spread, but symptoms seem to last only two to three days.”