Six new cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus were detected in Maharashtra on Saturday, of which three are from Pune rural, two from Pimpri Chinchwad and one from Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). These cases were reported by Pune's B J Medical College. With this, the total number of Omicron cases in the state has jumped to 460.
Of the 460 cases in Maharashtra, 327 are from Mumbai, followed by 28 in Pimpri Chinchwad, 21 in Pune rural, 13 in Pune Municipal Corporation, 12 in Thane, eight each in Navi Mumbai and Panvel, seven in Kalyan Dombivali, six each in Nagpur and Satara, five in Osmanabad, four in Vasai Virar, three in Nanded, two each in Aurangabad, Buldhana, Bhiwandi Nizampur, Mira Bhayandar and one each in Latur, Ahmednagar, Akola, Kolhapur.
Meanwhile, out of the 460, 180 patients have been discharged following a negative RT-PCR test.
Lockdown not under discussion: Maha health minister
The imposition of lockdown in the state was not being discussed at present, Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope said today.
Disaster management minister Vijay Wadettiwar had said the day before that the "stage of fresh lockdown" was nearing, but the decision will be taken by the chief minister.
"Decision of lockdown is not under discussion currently. The government will take decision about restrictions by taking into consideration the case positivity rate, hospital bed occupancy and oxygen consumption," Tope told reporters.
"If the daily (medical) oxygen requirement crosses 700 metric tons, then the state will go into lockdown automatically," he said.
"Currently we have imposed some restrictions on social gatherings. If it brings the virus spread under control, well and good. Otherwise we will have to impose stricter restrictions," the health minister added.
Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray will hold a meeting of top officials in this regard soon, he said.
(With PTI inputs)
