PUNE: The trend of active Covid-19 cases declining in Pune Metropolitan Region (PMR) continued with the caseload dropping below 2,000 on Monday evening for the first time in the year.
The active case tally in the region ranged between 2,000 and 2,150 in the last few days without any significant increase in cases with the Monday evening tally dipping to 1,995.
Active cases in Pimpri Chinchwad stayed below 500, while case count in Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) limits has been around 800.
District health office data revealed that rural areas continued to report significant drop in cases. Patient count dropped to 759 in rural pockets on Monday, almost equal to the count in the PMC limits. In the last two days, rural areas have added less number of Covid-19 patients, as against cases recorded in the PMC limits.
Health officials said the district’s urban and rural pockets have not reported significant rise in daily cases after the festivals. Cases, however, have gone up slightly in the PMC limits.
Assistant medical chief at PMC’s health department Sanjeev Wavre said, “Daily cases have remained below 100 barring a couple of days since the festivities. We are monitoring the cases. Daily testing continued to stay above 4,000.”
The region’s positivity rate dropped below 1% on Monday. In the two days prior Monday, it was 1.8% and 1.5%. The region collectively has been testing over 10,000 samples everyday. The daily positivity rate stayed below 2% in PMR in the last seven days.
“Though we have started other medical services at the PMC-run hospitals, the swab collection centres are functioning in full capacities. This is apart from the private laboratories conducting the Covid-19 tests,” said an official with the PMC’s health department.
District health officer Bhagwan Pawar said, “Cases in rural areas recorded a steady drop. The situation is being monitored. The number of hotspots has declined after a drop in cases,” he said.
