14,888 new cases were recorded in Maharashtra on Wednesday, taking the total count to 7,18,711. It is the highest single-day jump so far. The previous highest was 14,492, which was recorded on August 20 and August 22, respectively. Meanwhile, Mumbai also witnessed a sudden spike in the number of cases, with 1,854 new cases being recorded in the last 24 hours, taking the total count to 1,39,532.
The death toll in Maharashtra has also crossed the 23,000 mark, with 295 fatalities being reported on Wednesday, taking the total count to 23,089. Of the 295 deaths, 211 were reported in the last 48 hours, 58 were reported in the last week, and 26 were reported in the period before the last week.
Of the total deaths, 69 were from Pune, followed by 55 in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), followed by 53 in Nashik, 39 each in Kolhapur and Nagpur, 17 in Latur, 16 in Aurangabad and six in Akola.
The state has been making a steady addition of 10,000-plus cases every day and its latest one lakh cases were added in just 8 days. Maharashtra had crossed 6 lakh cases on August 17.
Of the 7 lakh cases in the state since March, 2,82,144 have been added in August alone. A state official said the spread of the infection in Pune, Akola and Nagpur circles continue to be aggressive.
Suresh Kakani, additional municipal commissioner, BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said due to the ICMR portal update, cases of August 25 have been added to the data, due to which the numbers have increased. “It cannot be said it is the highest single-day jump as old cases are also being added to the list,” he said. Moreover, the overall growth rate of Mumbai is 0.75% and the doubling rate is 93 days.
Senior health officials said different cities are witnessing a peak at different times and they are hoping for the flattening of the curve soon. “Going by the experience of other countries, there is a plateau after reaching a peak. Then, cases start declining after sometime. In our state, peaks are coming at different times in different cities. For instance, Mumbai has experienced a plateau, but Pune, Solapur and Sangli are currently experiencing a peak,” he said.
So far, a total of 37.94 lakh tests have been conducted in the state, of which nearly 18.84 per cent were positive. There are 12.68 lakh people in home quarantine and over 33,644 in institutional quarantine.
