Maharashtra logs sharp spike in Covid-19 cases at 18,466, Mumbai at 10,860

In Pune, the rise in cases prompted the administration to shut schools for Classes 1 to 8 in the district till January 30

Maharashtra on Tuesday recorded another sharp rise in coronavirus cases at 18,466 of which Mumbai alone reported 10,860, the highest daily count since April 7, 2021 in the state capital, with the city mayor warning of a lockdown if cases top 20,000 and Pune shutting down schools.

The state reported 75 new cases of Omicron, taking the tally of those infected with the new variant to 653, the health department said. Twenty fatalities linked to coronavirus were reported in the last 24 hours, taking the overall toll to 1,41,573, the department said.

With addition of 18,466 cases, Maharashtra's overall COVID-19 tally rose to 67,30,494, it said. As the cases spiralled across the state over the last 10 days, the active tally stood at 66,308. According to a health department bulletin, Mumbai alone has 47,476 active cases followed by 7,593 in Thane district. Pune, another district with a large urban population, has 4,202 active cases.

According to Avinash Dahiphale, president of the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD), 170 resident doctors have tested positive for coronavirus since last the 48 hours.

State minister Eknath Shinde, BJP's Goregaon MLA Vidya Thakur and South Mumbai MP Arvind Sawant have also tested positive for coronavirus. More than 10 ministers and at least 20 MLAs have tested positive for coronavirus so far, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar had said last week.

On Monday, the city had recorded 8,082 COVID-19 cases and the latest daily tally showed an increase of 2,778, or 34.37 per cent. The financial capital has reported five-digit COVID-19 cases for the first time since April 7, 2021, when it had reported 10,428 cases and 23 fatalities during the second wave of the pandemic.

Talking to reporters at her office in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) headquarters, Mayor Kishori Pednekar suggested that citizens wear triple-layer face masks while travelling in public buses and suburban trains. The mayor said BMC Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal has been keeping a close watch on the situation, and he has already hinted at a lockdown if the daily COVID-19 cases in the city rise over 20,000.

Today, no one wants a lockdown and it certainly shouldn't be imposed, as just now everyone is recovering from it. If the lockdown is enforced again, it will badly affect everyone. But, if the daily COVID-19 cases cross the 20,000-mark, a lockdown will be implemented by the civic body and the state government as per the Union government's rules, Pednekar said.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray might address the citizens in a couple of days, she said.

To a query, Pednekar said the BMC will carry out RT-PCR tests of people returning from Goa by a cruise ship and quarantine them at civic centres or in hotels if they are ready to pay for it. The ship arrived in Mumbai on Tuesday evening.

So far, Mumbai has clocked five-digit daily COVID-19 cases only three times since the outbreak of the pandemic in March 2020. Also, this (10,860) is the second highest COVID-19 cases reported in Mumbai since the outbreak of the pandemic. The metropolis had logged the highest-ever 11,163 COVID-19 cases on April 4, 2021. Out of the 10,860 new cases, 9,665 (89 per cent) patients are asymptomatic and only 834 people have been admitted to hospitals, while just 52 are on oxygen support, according to the civic body. It said only 4,491 out of 30,565 hospital beds, or 14.7 per cent of the total, are currently occupied by coronavirus patients in the city.

With a spurt in cases in the city, the infection growth rate increased to 0.63 per cent between December 28, 2021 and January 3, 2022, while the case doubling rate slipped to 110 days, as per the bulletin.

In Pune, the rise in cases prompted the administration to shut schools for Classes 1 to 8 in the district till January 30. Urging people to take the second dose of COVID-19 vaccine, Ajit Pawar said that directions have been issued to the administration to implement the "no vaccine, no entry" policy at malls, hotels, restaurants, bars, cinema halls, government offices, public and private establishments. The overall COVID-19 situation is becoming critical.

As the cases were rapidly increasing in Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai, the respective civic authorities took a decision to shut schools, said Pawar, who is also the guardian minister of Pune district. Pawar said state Health Minister Rajesh Tope spoke to ICMR director Balram Bhargav while taking the decision.

According to him (Bhargav), if the positivity rate has gone above 10 per cent, a decision regarding closure of schools can be taken," Pawar said, adding that the positivity rate in Pune city has risen to 18 per cent.

Omicron was spreading rapidly and it is being discussed that there could be an explosion of cases in the next 30 to 45 days. In Maharashtra, Omicron cases have been reported in 11 districts, he said.

There are currently 3,950 active cases in Pune city, of which 88 patients are on oxygen support and 36 are on ventilators, the Pawar said.