Daily Covid cases drop 17% in Mumbai, 1% in Maharashtra – Times of India

MUMBAI: After Wednesday’s high Covid tally, the state and the city reported dips in new cases. While the city reported a nearly 17% drop in its daily caseload, the state’s decline was insignificant at less than 1%. Maharashtra reported 46,406 cases as against 46,723 on Wednesday, while the city reported 13,702 cases as against over 16,000 on Wednesday.
Worryingly, Covid fatalities in the state reported a surge for the third consecutive day. The state reported 36 deaths, of which 6 were from the city.
The daily tally of the Omicron-Covid wave in Mumbai has been a topic of debate, with some doctors stating that the curve is flattening, while ministers said the worst is yet to come for Maharashtra in terms of caseload. On Thursday, Dr Rahul Pandit, who is a member of the state government’s task force on Covid-19, said that if cases continue to drop for the next three to four days, the worst could be over for the city. “General practitioners, who are the first level of contact for patients, are reporting a drop in calls and consultations,” he said.
Additional municipal commissioner Suresh Kakani said, “We will assess the situation for another three to four days before making up our mind on whether the wave is declining.”
Kakani said that citizens have no need to panic. “Over 80% of public hospital beds for Covid are vacant. In the private sector too, over 65% of beds are vacant. Most people are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms,” said Kakani. Dr Gautam Bhansali, a member of the state Covid task force, said the third wave is peaking. “In a week or two, decline should be apparent,” he said.
Health minister Rajesh Tope said on Thursday that of the nearly 4,000 samples sent for genome sequencing in the state, 1,300 have been detected with the Omicron variant, while the remaining 2,700 are still of the Delta variant. “70% cases from the sample were of the Delta variant and so we shouldn’t be worried only about the Omicron variant. We have to continue masking and following all Covid-appropriate norms,” said Tope.
Senior officials said a large number of cases are now getting reported from cities like Thane, Navi Mumbai, Panvel, Nashik, and Nagpur. “Even if cases in Mumbai report a decline, cases have just started to rise in other cities. Once the wave starts surging in unvaccinated areas, there could be a rise in hospitalisation,” said the official.
Meanwhile, MNS MLA Pramod (Raju) Patil has once again tested positive for Covid. Patil’s RT-PCR test report on Thursday came positive. MNS leader Harshad Patil said, “Patil has mild symptoms and is undergoing treatment in home isolation under guidance of a doctor from RR Hospital, Dombivli.” In the second wave, Patil and his wife had tested positive.