Maharashtra logs 4,907 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday

Maharashtra on Wednesday recorded 4,907 new infections and 125 COVID-19 fatalities, pushing the tally to 17,31,833 and death toll to 45,560 deaths. However, the recovery rate has now increased to 92.23 per cent, while the covid fatality rate is still constant at 2.62 per cent over the last three months.

Meanwhile, after reporting less than 600 cases for two consecutive days, the number of cases in Mumbai has almost doubled in the last 24 hours. The city recorded 1,069 new cases and 22 COVID-19 deaths on Wednesday, increasing the total count to 2,66,746, with 10,503 fatalities till now.

The graph of fresh infections is gradually going down in the past 45 days. The downward trend in cases that started from the last week of September has continued even in the second week of November. On September 26, the state reported 20,419 cases and since then, it is on a decline. For the past two consecutive days, fresh infections have not crossed the 4,000-mark. On November 9, cases recorded were 3,277 cases. However, the danger is not yet over as there are concerns over a possible rise in the number of cases by the end of this month due to Diwali. 

Health officials said the next 20 days are crucial and people will have to maintain social distancing, avoid crowding at the markets and wear masks to prevent another surge in COVID-19 cases in the state.

Meanwhile, the Centre on Wednesday expressed concern over the large active caseload and a high COVID-19 fatality rate of 2.62 per cent in Maharashtra and 3.5 per cent in and around Mumbai. The fact that progressive active cases have come down to 88,070.

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, in a video conference, has asked the Maharashtra government to suppress and break the chain of transmission and bring down the mortality rate to less than 1 per cent. He also suggested the state government focus on higher testing, especially in Nagpur, Thane, Palghar, Pune, Jalgaon, Aurangabad and Solapur, which had higher positivity, mandatory testing of symptomatic negatives thrown up by rapid antigen tests, increased tracing of close contacts of positive cases, proper follow-up and monitoring of that in-home isolation, especially the vulnerable groups.