Coronavirus Pandemic: Maharashtra now has 52 positive cases of COVID-19

On Friday, the Maharashtra Health Ministry announced that with three new people testing positive for the novel coronavirus in the state, the total number of nCOVID-19 cases has climbed to 52. Addressing a press conference in Mumbai, state Health Minister Rajesh Tope said these new cases were detected in Mumbai, Pune and Pimpri- Chinchwad.

Till Thursday, Maharashtra was the worst-affected Indian state by the coronavirus outbreak with 49 positive cases. This included the 64-year-old, who died in Mumbai earlier this week.

Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope: 3 people have tested positive for #Coronavirus - one each from Pimpri-Chinchwad, Pune & Mumbai. The total number of cases in the state now rises to 52. (file pic) pic.twitter.com/Hcg3ZmJdT6

— ANI (@ANI) March 20, 2020

As per the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the total number of coronavirus cases in India has climbed to 195. Till now, four people have died due to the novel coronavirus in India. One in Punjab, the three other deaths were reported from Delhi, Karnataka and Maharashtra.

After Maharashtra, Kerala is the Indian state with the most number of cases with as many as 28 coronavirus patients. On the other hand, Delhi has recorded 17 coronavirus cases to date whereas Karnataka has reported 15 cases so far.

Amid the partial lockdown in the city, the municipal corporation is preparing quarantine facilities and isolation wards ahead of the arrival of 26,000 people from Gulf countries.

Reportedly, BMC will launch quarantine facilities in some hotels near the Mumbai airport. As per an official, the civic body has decided to open isolation wards in at least 10 city hospitals. That being said, another 15,000 people are expected from the US by the end of March. Both the Gulf and the US have been affected by the outbreak.

The Maharashtra government has created a 3-layer surveillance strategy. This consists of the determination of three groups and the level of probability they will catch the disease:

• A category: This consists of those who have been screened at airports and have been showing symptoms. Individuals in Category A have been straight away taken to the Kasturba Hospital for quarantine.
• B category: This classifies people who are likely to get infected or prone to get infected. The people in Category B will be kept in isolation facilities and are being monitored. Their samples will be taken and they will be discharged on doctors' orders.
• C category: This consists of individuals who haven't shown any symptoms and so, have been asked to go home to follow self-isolation. However, the authorities will keep them under surveillance. Currently, around 1,000 such people are under surveillance in Mumbai.