Maharashtra added 23,179 new cases, the highest in six months since September 17 (24,619 cases). With this, Maharashtra reported a 30% increase in cases compared to Tuesday, bringing the state’s total number of cases to 23,70,507. From March 1 to 17, the daily cases in the state have multiplied by four.
The daily case count in several cities in Maharashtra was higher than the total case count in the worst affected states such as Punjab, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.
For example, Nagpur (with 2,698 cases) only exceeded the daily count of the four states, which recorded cases in four digits: Punjab (2,039), Gujarat (1,122), Kerala (2,098), Karnataka (1,275). With 2,698 new cases, the city of Nagpur, for the first time in a pandemic, recorded more daily cases than Mumbai, which recorded 2,377 cases.
The count in Mumbai was nearly triple the March 1 count (855).
Apart from Maharashtra, up to 17 states and Union territories on Wednesday recorded the highest count of new cases since or before January.
These were: Punjab (2,039 cases, the highest since September 23), Karnataka (1,275, the highest since December 9), Gujarat (1,122, the highest since December 16), Tamil Nadu (945 , highest since December 29), Chhattisgarh (887, highest since January 9), Madhya Pradesh (832, highest since December 31), Haryana (555, highest since 20 December), Delhi (536, highest since January 6), Rajasthan (313, highest since January 13), Bengal (303, highest since January 24), UP (261, more high since Jan 26), Telangana (247, highest since Jan 20), Chandigarh (201, highest since Sept 26), Himachal (167, highest since Jan 1), J&K (126 , highest since Jan 17), Uttarakhand (110, highest since Jan 23) and Puducherry (52, highest since Dec 2).
According to figures released by the Union Health Ministry in Delhi, daily new cases in the country are increasing around 43% week-over-week, while there has been a 37% increase in daily new deaths.
The union’s health secretary, Rajesh Bhushan, said data shows that 70 districts in 16 states have seen an increase of more than 150% in cases between March 1 and March 15, while the infection is increasing by 100-150% in 55 districts in 17 states.
“Most of these districts are in western and northern India,” he said, adding that Maharashtra still accounts for 60% of all active cases, as well as 45% of new deaths. The daily average of new cases is also increasing rapidly in the state. The weekly moving average of new cases shows that it has risen from 7,741 cases on March 1 to 13,527 on March 15.
The average test positivity rate of 16.4% in Maharashtra is much higher than the cumulative national average of 5%. On March 1, the positivity rate was 10.9%. However, the tests to detect the infection have not increased proportionally with the positivity rate of the test, Bhushan said.
Similarly, in states such as Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Delhi, and Himachal Pradesh, testing has not been able to keep up with the growing number of cases and positivity rates.
In many states and UTs such as Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi and Himachal Pradesh, the proportion of RT-PCR is also significantly low.
The Center has recommended that states witnessing a surge to increase testing in proportion to the positivity rate and also keep the ratio of RT-PCR to a minimum of 70%.
The Health Ministry has also asked states to ensure strict compliance with the use of masks, physical distancing and hand hygiene, along with increased vigilance and monitoring at the highest level of all potential events where women gather. crowds.
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