Mumbai’s share in Maharashtra’s Covid-19 cases drops to 14% from 60% in April – Hindustan Times

Even though the city has seen a surge in reported Covid-19 cases in September, Mumbai’s share in Maharashtra’s overall Covid tally is down to 14%. In terms of the state’s active cases, Mumbai constitutes only 10%. In March and April, the city’s Covid count made up the majority of the state’s active cases.

As of Thursday, Mumbai has a total of 192,427 Covid-positive cases, of which 27,741 are active. The city’s recovery rate is 81%. The total number of Covid-19 cases in Maharashtra is 12,82,963, of which 2,74,993 are active. In September, the city has seen a surge, with 1,500 to 2,300 new cases daily. However, the city’s share in the total number of deaths due to Covid-19 in Maharashtra has dipped to 25.2%. In March and April, Mumbai contributed to over 60% of Maharashtra’s total deaths due to Covid-19. However, urban Mumbai still has a high case fatality rate due to a larger population of senior citizens and the prevalence of hypertension and diabetes.

While Mumbai’s share has decreased, there has been sharp rise in the number of cases reported from satellite cities like Thane, Navi Mumbai, Bhiwandi, Kalyan, and Mira Bhayander, as well as tier-two and tier-three cities in Maharashtra. Pune city, which has 11% of Maharashtra’s Covid-19 cases, recorded 147,634 cases as of Thursday. Thane has 34,698 total Covid-19 cases and Navi Mumbai has 37,569 cases. Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation has recorded 44,094 cases, while Mira Bhayander has 18,028 cases.

A senior officer with the government of Maharashtra said, “The virus came into Mumbai due to international travellers. Then strict lockdown protected other parts of the state for a bit, but with unlock plans, all transportation services have begun. In the rest of Maharashtra we are also testing more now.”

Pune district has surpassed Mumbai and now comprises 21% of Maharashtra’s Covid total in terms of both active and asymptomatic cases. As of Thursday, Pune district has 274,492 cases of Covid-19, of which 60,146 are active. Nashik district has 69,099 cases in total, of which 14,748 are active. Nagpur district has 70,414 cases, of which 18,762.

“The larger contributor to Maharashtra’s Covid-19 cases in the month of April, May, and June was only Mumbai. Mumbai drastically crashed in September in terms of its contribution to the state. There has been a lot of localised transmission in Mumbai and Maharashtra. This is also because other cities, such as Pune beat Mumbai. Mumbai peaked earlier, and other cities are peaking now. As unlock happened, positivity rate went up, and cities like Pune took over. Once transportation is opened up, this is expected,” said Dr Shashank Joshi, a member of the state’s Covid-19 task force.

According to Dr Joshi, the increased number of cases is reflective of Maharashtra rapidly scaling up testing facilities. “Though, looking at the population, we should be testing 5 lakh to 7 lakh a day, at least we have made a commitment to testing 1.5 lakh a day,” he said.