These 4 Maharashtra districts have higher positivity rate than state itself
State health minister Rajesh Tope said that the strategy of “tracking, tracing and testing” is underway in these districts but floods have disrupted the work.
Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope on Wednesday said that coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases in four districts of the state are not seeing any declining trend. These districts include Satara, Sahni, Kolhapur and Pune where the case positivity rate is also more than the state average, he told news agency ANI.
“In these districts, our protocols of tracking, tracing and testing are continuing. Floods have affected the work,” Tope was quoted as saying.
Maharashtra and Kerala continue to be most affected due to coronavirus, with the Union ministry of health and family welfare (MoHFW) saying in a press briefing on Tuesday that 60 per cent of the country’s active caseload are from these states.
Addressing the briefing, joint secretary of MoHFW, Lav Agarwal told media persons that as many as 18 districts in India – three from Maharashtra, are reporting 10 weekly average Covid-19 cases as of August 1. Of the 18 districts, 10 hail from Kerala and the remaining are situated in the northeast states of Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, and Arunachal Pradesh.
Meanwhile, the single-day coronavirus cases in Maharashtra yet again witnessed a spike on Wednesday as 6,126 infections were logged as opposed to Tuesday’s 6,005. The daily number of patients who succumbed to the virus also jumped from 177 on Tuesday to 195 on Wednesday, thereby taking the cumulative tally to 133,410, according to the health department’s bulletin data. The state’s overall Covid-19 tally currently stands at 63,27,194 whereas, with 7,436 fresh recoveries, the total number of recovered persons has reached 61,17,560.
As far as Mumbai is concerned, the number of new cases saw a rise in the financial capital as well from Tuesday’s 291 infections to Wednesday’s 359. As many as nine patients lost their lives in the city on Wednesday, which is six more than Tuesday’s when three fatalities were reported.
This development comes after Maharashtra on Monday declared relaxation of coronavirus protocols in 14 districts, some of which are effective in Mumbai as well. However, 11 districts, including three of the four that Tope mentioned on Wednesday, continue to be under Level 3 curbs due to high Covid-19 cases.
On the other hand, floods in Maharashtra have claimed 219 lives alongside destroying crops, housing structures, electricity infrastructure and roads. The state government has announced a relief package of ₹11,500 crore for the damages that have ravaged 15 districts since July 22.
