COVID-19 rising cases: Maharashtra today (April 7) recorded 926 COVID-19 cases, a sizable rise from 803 cases added to the tally a day earlier, while the death toll increased by three, a health official said. The state’s tally stands at 81,48,599 and the fatality count was 1,48,457, he added.
Mumbai led with 276 new cases, a rise of 27 per cent from the previous day, while the three deaths were reported in Gondia, Kolhapur and Raigad districts, the official informed. The recovery count increased by 423 in the last 24 hours and touched 79,95,655, leaving the state with an active caseload of 4,487, he said.
As per state health department data, the recovery rate was 98.12 per cent and the fatality rate was 1.82 per cent. So far, 8,66,87,653 coronavirus tests have been conducted in the state, including 11,881 in the last 24 hours, as per official data.
At a COVID-19 review meeting chaired by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Friday, it was observed that Maharashtra was among the three states with 10 or more districts having positivity rate (cases per 100 tests) of more than 10 per cent. It was the fourth consecutive day when the addition to the tally in Mumbai crossed the 200-mark. The addition to the tally in the metropolis was 216 on Thursday, a civic official said.
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LoP Ajit Pawar on rising cases situation in Maharashtra:
Maharashtra Leader of Opposition (LoP) Ajit Pawar today said the state government should look into the COVID-19 situation immediately, as cases have been on the rise and apprise citizens. As per the state health department, Maharashtra had on Thursday recorded 803 fresh coronavirus cases and three fatalities that raised the tally of infections to 81,47,673, which includes 1,48,454 deaths. “During the recently concluded Assembly sessions, we had asked the state government about measures it was taking and the line of action it had decided to enable people’s representatives to go back to their constituencies and work on dealing with the COVID-19 situation by taking officials into confidence,” Pawar told reporters in Pune.
During the Maha Vikas Aghadi rule, the Uddhav Thackeray-led government had been united in its fight against coronavirus. Expressing concern, Pawar said that while the number of infections was increasing by the day, no one seemed to be taking the situation seriously. “If the situation is serious, the government should give instructions that people working in government offices must use masks mandatorily and people who visit these offices should also wear masks. However, no such order has been issued as yet,” the NCP leader said.
He further urged the government to take the COVID-19 situation seriously and inform people about the same by holding a press conference so that they know the ground reality and are able to take necessary precautions. On Chief Minister Ekanth Shinde’s upcoming visit to Ayodhya, Pawar said the chief minister can go to Ayodhya if he wishes to and the deputy chief minister and health minister can handle the COVID-19 situation.
7 states reporting highest number of cases: Mansukh Mandaviya
A review meeting chaired by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya noted on Friday that seven states are reporting high number of Covid cases in India with rising test positivity rate, which include Kerala, Maharashtra, Delhi, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Haryana.
At the meeting with the health ministers of different states and Union Territories, Mandaviya stressed on the importance of enhancing public awareness campaigns regarding adherence to Covid appropriate behaviour. The state health ministers were advised to personally monitor and review the preparedness of all logistics and infrastructure, including availability of sufficient designated hospital beds, besides ensuring that there is adequate stock of essential medicines.
The states were also asked to regularly update their Covid data on the designated Portal. The meeting also discussed the global Covid situation, along with the domestic scenario .The states/UTs were reminded of the joint advisory issued by the Union Health Ministry and ICMR on March 25, which called for a reinvigorated public health response to contain the surge of seasonal influenza and Covid cases through early detection, isolation, testing and timely management of suspected and confirmed cases to detect and contain outbreaks of new SARS-CoV-2 variants.
Mandaviya requested the states/UTs to ensure effective implementation of the same. There was a comprehensive and detailed discussion on various aspects of Covid management, including ramping up of hospital infrastructure, increased testing etc. India reported 6,050 new Covid cases in the last 24 hours while the active caseload stood at 28,303 on Friday.
(With agencies inputs)
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