Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope on Friday said that the COVID-19 cases are expected to rise during July and August but the Maha Vikas Aghadi Government is working to ensure that the fatality rate does not go up. "We are increasing the number of doctors and ICU beds in the state to meet the demand," Tope said.
"A resolution has been passed in the Cabinet for availing the services of PG final year medical students in ICU wards. We are procuring important anti-viral drugs & increasing their stock in each district to ensure availability," ANI quoted the Minister.
Rajesh Tope said that they were strictly following the ICMR guidelines regarding COVID-19 and not hiding the number of cases or deaths. "Sometimes we report some deaths of past days on a particular day due to reconciliation but it does not mean we want to hide anything," he added.
Meanwhile, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, Health Minister Rajesh Tope and Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Friday reviewed the COVID-19 situation in Pune district.
Tope asked the Pune district and civic administrations to implement the "Mumbai pattern" to fight the outbreak.
He said after antigen tests, the state government had decided to conduct antibodies tests, which will help detect people with the infection in containment zones.
The leaders also visited the PMC's "war room" set up to coordinate coronavirus combat efforts.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra remains the worst-affected state in the country with 1,47,741 cases. The active cases in the state are 63,357. The number of people cured or discharged stands at 77,453 while the death toll is at 6,931.
(With input from Agencies)
