Daily Covid cases in Maharashtra cross 1,000-mark; Pune Metropolitan Region sees 1 death

MUMBAI/PUNE: After a seven-month gap, the daily Covid-19 tally (1,115) in Maharashtra crossed the 1,000-mark on Wednesday. The single-day toll, which was under five on most days for the last eight months, too, climbed to nine. In Pune Metropolitan Region (PMR), the daily tally stood at 142, with one death.
In Mumbai, one of the hotspots in the country during the Covid waves over the last three years, cases climbed 32% within a 24-hour period to cross 300 (320). Two of the nine deaths also occurred in Mumbai, including a 50-year-old man with chronic lung disease and an 81-year-old man with Covid pneumonia.
Two deaths occurred in Thane. The greater Mumbai region accounted for almost half of Wednesday's tally (590) and toll (five). Despite the clear surge in Covid cases since early March, the authorities said there was no need to panic.
State health officials, quoting the central government's projections in the last two weeks, said the increase could continue till May. "It is best to avoid crowded places and wear a mask when outdoors," BMC additional municipal commissioner Dr Sanjeev Kumar said.
Doctors said symptoms among the young were extremely mild. "Some among the elderly with comorbidities are getting a moderate infection, and only a fraction of the positive cases need hospitalisation," a medical practitioner said.