For the second consecutive day, Maharashtra witnessed its lowest single day COVID-19 case count. On Tuesday, 14,123 new cases and 477 deaths were reported. The tally now stands at 57,61,015, with 96,198 fatalities. Meanwhile, the recovery rate touched 94.28 per cent. 35,949 patients have recovered, taking the total recoveries to 54,31,319 so far.
Mumbai, meanwhile, reported less than 1,000 for the second day in a row. 831 new cases and 23 fatalities were reported on Tuesday. The count now stands at 7,07,082 with 14,907 deaths. Similarly, the recovery rate of the city has touched 95 per cent. 6,72,664 patients have recovered and were discharged since the outbreak of the virus.
Dr Subhash Salunke, adviser to the government of Maharashtra on COVID-19 management, attributed various factors to the decline. “The lockdown played an important role in the decline and even the urban population was careful,” said Salunke. He attributed the rise in cases in rural areas to the casual attitude of the people.
“The rural population is still not adhering to the COVID-19 protocols, like wearing masks or maintaining social distance. The enforcement of the lockdown is poor,” added Dr Salunke.
Senior health officer blamed the administration for the neglect in the rural belt. “The local administration in places like Amravati, Konkan, Satara and Sangli focussed only on urban areas. In these places, there was hardly any proper testing or counselling facilities for patients. The administration was caught unaware. They felt, like the first wave, it will hardly impact the rural areas,” he said.
