MUMBAI: The second wave of Covid-19 shows a declining trend across Mumbai and Maharashtra, but spots of worry remain. Maharashtra has registered less than 25,000 for three consecutive days, but smaller districts and non-metro areas continue to drive the Covid graph of the state. Maharashtra reported 24,752 cases and 453 deaths on Wednesday taking total caseload to 56.5 lakh. Total toll rose to 91,341 with 539 previous deaths added to the cumulative number. In Mumbai, total caseload breached the seven-lakh mark. Daily detections shot up to 1,352 on Wednesday, from 1,029 on Tuesday and 1,049 on Monday, on increased testing. While 29,589 tests were done for Wednesday’s tally, the numbers were 20,990 and 21,947 on Tuesday and Monday respectively. Mumbai’s Dharavi area reported three cases on Wednesday, the lowest since February 11, when two were reported. On April 8, Dharavi had reported 99 on a single day which was the highest. Total cases reported from Dharavi so far have been 6,798. “As the tests went up, the cases rose. The problem with Mumbai is its thick tail (incidence at the end of the wave). Due to high population density in Mumbai, the number of cases will take a long time to drop below 500 a day,” said Dr Rahul Pandit, who heads the ICU wing in Fortis Hospital and is a member of the state government’s task force on Covid-19. Dr Ramesh Bharmal, dean of BMC-run Nair Hospital, said there are roughly 200 patients in the hospital, with over half in the ICU. “We have had to add another ward for post-Covid patients coming in with fungal infection mucormycosis from other parts of the state,” said Dr Bharmal. There are roughly 2,000 mucormycosis cases in Maharashtra. Districts like Ahmednagar, Solapur, Satara, Kolhapur, Buldhana and Pune are adding more cases than Mumbai. And Solapur , Satara, Kolhapur are reporting more deaths. “These districts are a cause of concern,” said a senior official. Also, with cases dropping, the state cabinet on Thursday is likely to discuss the relaxations that can be given across the state after June 1.
Maharashtra reports less than 25,000 Covid cases, 3rd day in a row; Mumbai hits 7 lakh in all
