Maharashtra, on Monday, recorded 3,047 new cases and 40 deaths, pushing the respective tallies to 18,55,341 and 47,774 till now. Meanwhile, the recovery rate of the state has touched 93 per cent. 7,345 patients have recovered, taking the total count to 17,30,715 so far.
Mumbai reported 544 new cases and 11 deaths on Monday, increasing the corresponding counts to 2,86,590 and 10,914 so far. The recovery rate of the city has increased to 92 per cent and 1,598 have recovered in the last 24 hours.
Health Department authorities had anticipated a surge in cases a fortnight after Diwali (November 15), but the infection rate has not gone up yet. The November 30-December 6 week had a positivity rate of 6.79 per cent.
The number of active cases in the state has seen a dip in the past week, from 90,557 on November 30 to 80,079 on December 6. An upward swing in the cases in the state was anticipated by December end or in January 2021. “The fortnight after Diwali was crucial, as it would have given a sign of the possible surge. However, so far, we have not seen any significant change in the key parameters. The district and civic administrations are on guard. Testing and tracing has been ramped up in a targeted manner,” said an official
The state was wary of a spike in cases after Diwali. The trends have made state officials hopeful of not experiencing a rise, however, they have a word of caution as they expect a gradual rise from December end. Dr Pradeep Awate, state surveillance officer, on Sunday said, “In many European countries, cases stabilised for around two and a half months, post which, they saw a surge. If we go by this logic, cases started declining in Maharashtra from October and we might see a surge in January. However, it is right that recent trends do not pose a risk of a second wave. We cannot be complacent and lower our guard though.”
