Covid-19 mortality rate in Maharashtra drops in last two weeks

Along with the steady fall in the daily caseload, positivity rate and improvement in the recovery rate, the weekly case fatality rate (CFR) of the Covid-19 cases has declined over the last five weeks in Maharashtra, the health department said.

The weekly CFR which ranged between 2.51 and 2.67 for the first three weeks in October has fallen to 2.15 in the last two weeks.

Maharashtra’s overall CFR, which was 2.63% is second highest in the country after Punjab (3.14%) and much above national rate of 1.48%. Though the national rate has been steadily coming down, Maharashtra’s CFR hovered around 2.64% for the last six weeks.

The weekly CFR had increased to 2.51% in the first week of October (Sept 30-Oct 6), 2.54% in the second week (Oct 7-13) and 2.67 in the third week (Oct 14-20). It had dropped to lowest to 1.84 for two weeks (August 29 to September 13) only to rise thereafter. Again, it dropped to 2.03 last week (Oct 28 to Nov 3) and 2.28% this week (Nov 4-10).

The state authorities have attributed the high CFR also to the transparency the state has been maintaining in caseload and the mortality rate. “If you compare the caseload and the fatality rate, Maharashtra leads the chart also because of the transparency we maintain. In many states in northern India and some of the neighbouring states, they have underreported the cases. They have not been conducting tests in the proportion of the spread of infection. It results in a low number of cases and in turn the mortality rate,” said a state health officer on the condition of anonymity.

Dr Avinash Supe, head of the state death audit committee, said, “We have been able to bring CFR down through early detection and high testing, but it will remain hovering around 2% because of the age factor and the morbidities among the patients. We have suggested that the government conduct a death audit in each of the hospitals and also divisional scrutiny to explore reasons for high rates in any particular hospital. We have also suggested training and expert clinical advice to the doctors in rural areas through tele communication to avoid the deaths.”