Vaccinations, herd immunity reducing active Covid cases in Maharashtra: Experts

Maharashtra on Tuesday recorded 766 fresh Covid-19 cases and 19 fatalities from the disease, taking the overall tally of infections to 6,631,297 and the death toll to 140,766.

Experts, meanwhile, said the state was seeing an overall decline in active Covid-19 cases largely because of two factors: the anti-Covid vaccination drive and herd immunity.

Mumbai recorded 190 new coronavirus cases and one death with its tally of fatalities reaching 16,311.

A total of 87,506 Covid-19 tests were done in the past 24 hours across Maharashtra, and 929 people recovered from the infection on Tuesday.

The daily Covid-19 test positivity rate for the state was 0.87%.

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Pune had earlier been leading in terms of the number of active Covid-19 cases for months, followed by Thane. However, due to a recent surge in cases, Mumbai now has the most number of active coronavirus infections.

Of the 9,493 active cases, Mumbai has the highest, with 2,561, followed by Pune (2,027) and Thane (1,160).

State surveillance officer Dr Pradeep Awate said the decline in active Covid-19 cases is directly proportional to the number of new infections. “The decrease in active cases indicates the decline in Covid-19 infections. Our sustained efforts to control the virus are bearing the fruit in the form of a lower number of new cases,” he said.

During the peak of the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, 691,851 active cases were reported in the state on April 23. The figure was below 20,000 on October 27 and less than 30,000 on October 13.

Dr Ameet Mandot, director at Gut Clinic, said vaccinations against the coronavirus disease and herd immunity together led to a decline in numbers.

“Vaccination has played a vital role in the decline in cases, and it helped in reducing severity [of the disease] in infected people. Also, people are developing herd immunity. These factors are hugely responsible for the control of the virus,” said Dr Mandot.