Maharashtra’s active Covid-19 cases dip by 49.84% in past week

In an indication of decline of Covid-19 cases, Maharashtra’s active cases in the past one week have fallen by a significant 49

In an indication of decline of Covid-19 cases, Maharashtra’s active cases in the past one week have fallen by a significant 49.84% compared to the week before.

A health worker inoculates a beneficiary against Covid-19 in Sangli on Wednesday. Uday Deolekar/HT photo

Health department data shows 96,069 active cases on February 8 against 1,91,528 recorded on February 1.

On Wednesday, the state reported 7,142 new cases and 92 deaths.

The number of active cases has now reached 82,893, with Pune leading at 23,603 followed by Ahmednagar with 6,034 and Thane with 4,887.

State surveillance officer Dr Pradeep Awate said it is a good sign that cases are now decreasing by the day. “We are witnessing the decline uniformly across the state. This is the best indicator that we have the situation under control,” he said.

Dr Wiqar Shaikh, professor of medicine, Grant Medical College and Sir JJ Hospital, said, “We will see the end of this wave by March. Till then we should be cautious and take all precautions.”

The positivity rate recorded is 5.21% after 1,37,042 tests were conducted.

As many as 23 districts are seeing a higher positivity rate compared to the state average of 9.30%. The districts are Amravati (27.10%), Nagpur (24.20%), Wardha (23.20%), Pune (18.80%), Nandurbar (18.40%), Aurangabad (17.90%), Yavatmal (16.40%), Hingoli (15.90%), Nashik (15.20%), Washim (14.70%), Osmanabad (13.80%), Akola (13.50%), Gondia (13.50%), Sangli (13,50%), Latur (13.00%), Bhandara (12.80%), Kolhapur (12.10%), Satara (11.40%), Solapur (11.00%), Chandrapur (10,60%), Ahmednagar (10.30%), Buldhana (10.10%), and Nanded (9.40).

Positivity rate is the percentage of total tests of a particular infection returning positive.

Maharashtra also reported zero cases of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 on Wednesday. The total number of Omicron cases stands at 3,334. Of them, 2,189 have been discharged following a negative RT-PCR report.

Mumbai recorded 441 new cases and nine deaths. The fatality toll has touched 16,676.

The total number of cases in the state has gone up to 78,23,385. The death count has reached 1,43,247, with Pune again leading at 20,059 followed by Mumbai with 16,676 and Thane with 11,814.