Maharashtra sees record 6.6 lakh new cases in March – Times of India

MUMBAI: Maharashtra recorded over 6.6 lakh new Covid -19 cases in March, which is the highest addition of cases in a month since the pandemic began and a 400% jump from February, when 1.3 lakh cases were logged. It took the state over 3.5 months from mid-October to February to add 6.5 lakh cases.

Mumbai added 83,457 cases in March, again the highest in a month since the outbreak started.
On Wednesday, 39,544 cases were added in the state, the second highest daily addition so far, taking the total caseload to 28.12 lakh. It is nearly the same as Germany, which is the 10th worst affected country with 28.16 lakh cases.
Worryingly, Maharashtra reported 227 deaths, a significant jump from 139 fatalities reported a day before. Wednesday’s toll is the highest in 146 days, since November 5 (256).
In absolute numbers, the monthly fatalities are on the rise, but the case fatality rate is actually dipping. In March, the state added 2,495 deaths and reported a CFR of 0.4%, as against 1,072 deaths in February and a CFR of 0.8%. At its peak in September, the state’s fatality rate was 2.1% with 1,271 deaths. Though the state breached the September high in cases in March, deaths were five times fewer.
Mumbai ended March with 200 deaths, higher than February’s toll of 127 but less than January’s 236. The city had reported the highest deaths in June last year (3,277).
Members of the state task force said Maharashtra could continue to see the surge through April. “We saw in 2020 that cases surge for a few months before declining. Our silver lining so far has been the low fatality rate, both for Mumbai and Maharashtra. But we need to be mindful of rising deaths in absolute numbers,” said intensivist Dr Rahul Pandit, member of the Covid task force.
Dr Avinash Supe, who heads the Covid death committee, said fatalities continue to be most common among the elderly and those with comorbidities, but there is a small percentage of young people who come to hospital late and succumb within 7-8 days. “The key here is to stay watchful even if one doesn’t have major symptoms so that any deterioration is treated promptly,” he said.
The demand for private hospital beds kept growing in the city. A few major hospitals said they have a long waiting list of patients who want to be upgraded or shifted from smaller hospitals or government facilities. Dr Om Srivastava said it was stretching up to 80-90 in certain hospitals. Additional municipal commissioner Suresh Kakani said there are enough beds in public hospitals, but the demand is for private beds. Dr Gautam Bhansali said over 100 private beds were added on Wednesday to push the private capacity to nearly 4,800.
At the state level, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (9,941) added the highest cases while the Nagpur region recorded its maximum deaths (54). Palghar district’s tally crossed the 50,000 mark on Wednesday, even as it lifted the ban on weddings after April 15. Weddings can take place with 50 guests and police permission.
(Inputs by Sandhya Nair)