Sixteen districts in Maharashtra continue to have a weekly Covid positivity rate above five per cent, the state health department report revealed on Wednesday. Pune tops the list with 18.06 per cent, followed by Nagpur (14.51 per cent), Akola (9.60 per cent) and Sangli (9.18 per cent).
However, the weekly positivity rate of Mumbai has dropped to 3.07 per cent compared to the state’s average weekly rate of 5.8 per cent. The state health department report on July 27 showed data for 12 districts, with Nandurbar on top with 9.11 per cent positivity, followed by Gondia (8.09 per cent), Solapur (7.96 per cent), Washim (7.58 per cent), Ahmednagar (7.53 per cent), and Sindhudurg (6.87 per cent).
Senior health officials said there was a surge in cases in Pune after the Wari procession but now data from July 20-26 shows it has been controlled. “If we go by the data, the cases have reduced by 11.91 per cent in Pune in the last seven days, which means the virus is losing its grip but still there is a need for strict vigilance.
The rest of the state is yet to see a decline, except Mumbai and Thane where cases are endemic,” an official said. The official said that currently the state is witnessing BA.5 and BA.2.75 variants which are the major reasons for the surge in some districts. However despite the high transmission of these variants, the severity continues to be low. “Only 6.12 per cent of the patients are in hospitals,” the official said.
