mumbai

Updated: Apr 21, 2020 02:04 IST

The number of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases in Maharashtra, the Indian state worst hit by the pandemic, reached 4,666, with 466 new cases surfacing on Monday alone. The tally in Mumbai, the worst-affected city, crossed 3,000 after 308 new cases were reported on Monday. Mumbai alone has 3,032 Covid-19 cases.

It was the second highest single-dayspike in the state since March 9 when the first Covid-19 case in Maharashtra was registered. On Sunday, the state recorded its previous steepest increase with 552 cases.

Nine more Covid-19 deaths were reported in the state on Monday, taking the toll to 232. Of these, seven deaths took place in Mumbai and two in Malegaonof Nashik, each. The number of fatalities from the virus in Mumbai has now reached 139.

Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope tried to ease concerns over the increase . “The doubling rate in the state has now reached 7 days from two days in the past. We are trying to increase it even further,” Tope said.

Maharashtra took 30 days to cross 1,000 cases on April 7, but exceeded the 2,000-mark in just six days on April 13. The number cases rose from 2,000 to 4,000 in just six days.

The state, Tope said, was conducting the maximum number of coronavirus disease tests. “So far, we have conducted 76,000 tests and 50,000 tests... in Mumbai alone. We are also doing surveillance and contract tracing aggressively,” he said.

Dharavi in Mumbai reported 30 more cases on Monday, taking the tally in Asia’s most crowded slum to 168 with 11 deaths.

Additionally, at least 53 journalists in Mumbai have also tested positive for the disease, officials said on Monday. “Out of 167 samples, 53 have come positive for Covid19 and the number could go up,” said Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation official Vijay Khabale-Patil.

The Mumbai mayor quarantined herself because she had met some of the journalists who tested positive on Monday. “As a precautionary measure, I have decided to be quarantined in my home as in the last few days I have came in contact with many media persons,” she said.

The journalists have been sent to an isolation facility at a Goregaon hotel.

Two civic body employees also tested positive on Monday.

According to data from the state medical education department, Maharashtra’s mortality rate has dropped to 5.3% (223 cases till Sunday) from 7.41% (148 cases) since last Monday (April 13). This is still higher than the national mortality rate of 3.14% till Sunday, the data showed.

Meanwhile, with the rising number of cases, the infection spread to three more districts in the state – Parbhani (one case), Nandurbar (one case) and Chandrapur (two cases). Only four of the state’s 36 districts now remain free of he disease.

“The number is not still very alarming except that of Mumbai; all the other areas are quite under control. In Mumbai, it is limited in certain areas and we still believe that the growth is not exponential,” said a senior official, requesting anonymity.

The state health department has conducted 76,092 tests at various public and private facilities so far. Of these, 71,611 people have tested negative for the infection. The state has 364 active containment zones. As many as 5,648 survey teams, comprising doctors and support staff, have screened more than 2.08 million people for the infection.

Around 331 patients have been discharged from hospitals after recovering from the infection; 6,879 people are at government quarantine facilities, health officials said.

On Monday, the state government partially lifted lockdown restrictions in some areas. Construction work in municipal corporation and municipality areas including in Mumbai and Pune was allowed.

The state government has decided to allow industries to operate in all rural areas of the state,and manufacturing and other industrial establishments in special economic zones. Operations will be allowed to resume in industrial townships that are outside the containment areas except in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and Pune Municipal Corporations limits. Construction of roads, buildings and irrigation projects outside the municipal corporation limits will also be allowed.

“It will take a couple of days to streamline all the things. We need to understand their difficulties and what more changes are required. All these need to be understood and acted upon. As public health is our top priority, we have put many conditions on industries for operating,” said Harshdeep Kamble, development commissioner (Industries).