Maharashtra reports 2,740 new Covid cases, 27 deaths on Monday

Maharashtra on Monday added 2,740 new Covid-19 cases — its lowest single-day cases in 219 days or over seven months. The state also reported 27 deaths in the past 24 hours which is its lowest in 190 days. While the dip in cases is being attributed to a lower number of testing on account of weekend, the state is seeing an overall downward trend.

To be sure, the lowest one-day state figure comes on the back the lowest one-day testing figure since March 22. On that day, Maharashtra reported 105,830 tests, with 24,645 new cases at a positivity rate of 23.29%. Monday’s positivity rate was 2.54%.

However, a month after suburban train services in Mumbai were opened up for fully vaccinated population, Covid-19 cases in Mumbai and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) has seen an increase. State health department officials are concerned about the rise but added that a pattern would emerge by early October.

Mumbai logged 345 cases on Monday and six fatalities, taking tally to 735,400 and toll to 16,028. The city and its surrounding areas in MMR logged over 22% of the state’s total cases on Monday.

The state’s active case count dropped to 49,880, while overall positivity rate stood at 11.59%. In the past 24 hours, Maharashtra tested 108,216 samples for Covid, showing a positivity rate of 2.54%. The overall case tally in the state went up to 6,500,617, and death toll rose to 138,169.

The state government reopened train services for people who have taken both their vaccine doses, from Independence Day, completing 30 days on Monday. In the past few days, Mumbai has been clocking between 350 and 400 new Covid cases daily. However, it had reported 500 new cases last week, after a gap of seven weeks.

Between August 15 and September 8, Mumbai added 8,274 fresh cases to its tally. However, the health department “omitted” over 15,000 cases from the overall tally due to duplication, of which 5,435 were from Mumbai, the data showed. Since September 8, Mumbai has added 1,504 new cases to its tally.

Thane district, which has a vast rural area and five densely populated municipal corporation areas, has added 7,096 new Covid cases between August 15 and September 13. Panvel city has added 1,740 new cases, while Vasai-Virar added around 912 infections during the same period.

Thane district has seen a rise in cases. Between July 15 and August 15, the district added 5,861 cases. In the past 30 days, it added 7,096 cases, which is a 21.07% rise.

State health department officials said they were monitoring the situation closely in conjunction with the civic bodies in Mumbai and MMR. They said that a pattern can only be ascertained by October first week.

“While cases across the state are seeing some gradual dip, cases in Mumbai are stagnant and has also seen occasional spike. The cases were expected to rise a bit given the curbs were relaxed by the state in mid-August. However, it is not a trend. We will know if the curve is taking an upward trajectory by October first week,” a state health department official said.

Relaxation in restrictions clubbed with festivals such as Dahi Handi and Ganesh Chaturthi have raised the concerns of local authorities. Officials said that by October 5, which is 14 days or one incubation cycle after Ganpati festival ends, they would know the impact of the increased movement of people. During the two festivals, the cities in MMR saw crowding and poor masking.

Meanwhile, a chunk of the state’s tally on Monday came from Pune, Solapur and Satara districts. Collectively, it contributed 35.29% of the total cases on Monday. Pune rural areas added 318 new Covid cases, while Pune city added 130 new cases and Pimpri-Chinchwad 108 fresh infections. Solapur city added six new cases, while the rural areas of the district saw 228 cases. Satara saw 177 new cases in the past 24 hours. Ahmednagar rural areas reported 569 new cases, while Sangli saw 191 new cases.