City logs 448 new corona cases in past 24 hrs

The city recorded less than 500 cases for the fourth consecutive day, with 448 new infections and four COVID-19 deaths reported on Sunday, increasing the total positive cases to 3,11,874 and 11,390 deaths so far. As many as 711 patients recovered in the last 24 hours across Mumbai, pushing the tally of recoveries to 2,94,128.

Maharashtra reported 2,673 new cases and 30 COVID-19 deaths in the last 24 hours, increasing positive cases to 20,44,071 and 51,310 fatalities till now.

“Of the 30 deaths reported today, 16 occurred in the last 48 hours and 2 in the last week. Rest 12 deaths are from the period before last week. Out of the 12 deaths, 9 occurred in Raigad, 2 in Pune and 1 In Nagpur,” said Dr Pradip Awate, state surveillance officer.

Dr Subhash Salunkhe, who chairs the Maharashtra communicable diseases prevention and control technical committee, said, “Although we are getting fewer daily cases, the number of active infections is still quite high. It simply means we need to be more careful because the situation is not what we anticipate,” he said.

Dr Rahul Pandit, who is a member of the state government task force on Covid-19, said that while the pandemic is clearly on the decline in Mumbai, some parts of the state are still witnessing an increase in numbers. “In Mumbai, too, the daily number of cases should have dropped more than the 400-500 at present. However, Mumbai is a crowded city and a number of people who stayed home for the first nine months of the pandemic are venturing out and getting infected,” he said.

“I agree the situation [Covid-19 cases] is not improving, but the position we are in is better than before. It is going to take some more time before we have full control of the situation. The vaccination drive, as it reaches the common people, will start showing positive effects,” he added.