Maharashtra witnessed less than 50 COVID-19 deaths for the first time in seven months with the state reporting 30 coronavirus deaths on Monday, increasing toll to 46,653 so far. There was a slight drop in the number of daily COVID-19 cases on Monday, with Maharashtra reporting 4,163 new infections pushing its total positive cases to 17,84,361 so far.
Mumbai reported less than 1,000 cases with 800 new infections and 14 COVID-19 deaths in the past 24 hours, increasing the total count to 2,76,507, with 10,687 deaths so far. Active cases in the city increased to 10,141.
Health experts and the state administration are expecting a second wave to hit Maharashtra by December-end. The next 8-10 days are crucial to ascertain how huge the surge might be, said the experts.
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, in his address to the state, said that he’s been advised by some to impose night curfew like in Ahmedabad. “Some people are suggesting to me that there should be night curfew. But not everything can be done by enacting laws. We did not ban firecrackers for Diwali and instead we appealed to the people to exercise caution. And they followed. I’m appealing to you not to venture out unnecessarily,” he said.
Dr Subhash Salunkhe, advisor to the state on COVID-19 control and member of a state-appointed panel on communicable diseases, said the state must increase testing.
“There was a downward trend before Diwali, and we are seeing some increase in cases in some cities and districts. Despite appeals from the chief minister, ministers and experts, people have not been adhering to COVID-appropriate behaviour. Besides, the state must increase testing to its full capacity. For instance, Pune conducts around 3,500 tests daily, but it should increase to 6,500-7,500 tests per day,” Salunkhe said.
