MUMBAI: Covid-19 cases and deaths hit an 18-month low in Maharashtra on Monday as 809 cases and 10 deaths were reported.
The state reported 809 new cases, the lowest addition in a 24-hour period since May 3 last year (when 678 cases were added). Fifteen districts and nine municipal corporations did not register any new case. Deaths dropped to 10 on Sunday, the lowest since April 20 last year (when nine deaths were reported), with 30 districts not recording any fatality in a day.
The state’s cumulative tally of cases stood at 66,11,887. Of the 809 cases reported on Monday, 428 were from the Mumbai metropolitan region,132 from Nashik circle and 187 from Pune circle. The 10 deaths were reported from Mumbai (4), two each from Beed and Satara, and one each from Ahmednagar and Sindhudurg. Maharashtra’s Covid toll stood at 1,40,226, while Mumbai’s count is now at 16,251.
Mumbai also saw the lowest detections in nearly 70 days. On Monday, the city added 258 cases, the lowest after August 23 (225), taking the cumulative tally to 7,57,007. Sounding a word of caution, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray said that no one can predict a third wave. “At present, the Delta variant found is mutated but if a deadly variant comes from another country, it would be a problem,” he said. On the slowdown in vaccination, he said that people were not coming forward to be vaccinated.
Dr Shashank Joshi, a member of the state Covid task force, said emerging numbers are clear that the second wave is over in Maharashtra. “That, however, shouldn’t slow the pace of vaccination or testing,” he said.
