Amid the dipping number of Covid-19 cases across the state, people under home quarantine have also reduced by more than 61 per cent in the last 30 days, though there has not been a substantial drop in institutional quarantine.
According to the state health department’s data, until November 3, as many as 1,87,286 people were under home quarantine which has dropped to 73,024. State officials have attributed this drop to the strict implementation of curbs, awareness amongst the citizens and 45 per cent of the state population being fully vaccinated.
Meanwhile, health experts have warned against dropping the guard. For the last two weeks, the daily cases of Covid-19 in the state have been under 2,000, and for the last three days, less than 1,000 cases are being reported. Moreover, the recovery rate among mildly symptomatic patients has also increased significantly.
“The overall active cases have come down all across the state, especially in the hotspots. For instance, in Pune and Mumbai, the number of active patients has come down to 1,870 and 1,923, respectively,” said Dr Pradeep Awate, state surveillance officer. A senior health department official said that despite the relaxation in the lockdown norms, the state has been able to keep the infection rate under control.
However, the next 15 days will be crucial as the infection rate might surge, he said. Confirming the development of reducing home quarantine cases, additional municipal commissioner Suresh Kakani said the drop is being witnessed for the past 10 days. As a result, active cases have also been reduced and the doubling rate is above 2,000 days.
“It was easier to keep a tab at home quarantine patients even though they were asymptomatic as they feared stepping out. Almost 60-70 percent of these patients have completed their quarantine norms,” he said. Health experts, meanwhile, said there is not enough clarity on the severity of the current infection rate due to Omicron, and more information is expected to be released in the next two weeks.
