New Covid cases cross 800 in Maharashtra for first time since October

MUMBAI: The state witnessed a surge in its daily Covid-19 tally on Thursday, recording a jump of 41% compared to Wednesday. New detections rose to 803, crossing the 800 mark for the first time since October. Three Covid deaths were recorded, with one each reported from the city, Thane, and Jalna, taking the state's toll to 1,48,454 since the pandemic arrived in 2020.
With 19 new admissions, the total number of patients in city hospitals rose to 100.
The city recorded deaths for two consecutive days, with the latest fatality being a 36-year-old man who had a history of tuberculosis. Civic officials said that deaths and severe hospitalisations have been seen in people with underlying comorbidities. The city continued to record over 200 new cases for the third day in a row-216 cases on Thursday, marginally lower than Wednesday's 221. Civic testing data showed the daily positivity rate stood at 14%.
Ahead of the nationwide mock drill on April 10 and 11, the union health ministry held a video-conference with states on Thursday to discuss Covid-19 preparedness. Officials noted the gradual but sustained increase in Covid cases since mid-February. The Centre told the states that although hospitalisation and death rates were low due to vaccination rates, the rise in cases required strengthened public health actions.
The Centre emphasised the need to closely monitor the trend of influenza-like-illnesses/severe acute respiratory infection and refer samples for testing. It said it was critical to maintain optimum testing to identify emerging hot spots. Hospitals were advised to assess preparedness.
Dr Mangala Gomare, BMC's executive health officer, said they had already started collecting data from hospitals for checking the preparedness of health infrastructure. She said there are 15 BMC, three government and 35 private hospitals that contribute to a total of 4,022 beds. She said 35 hospitals and 49 labs could collectively test 1.35 lakh samples daily. She added that ward war rooms are already functioning. The city also has a medical oxygen capacity of 3,205 metric tons.
Active cases in the state inched closer towards the 4,000 mark, with Mumbai accounting for nearly 1,300 cases.