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Updated: April 24, 2020 4:34:25 am
Among those who tested positive was Maharashtra’s Minister of Housing, Jitendra Awhad.
Maharashtra on Thursday recorded 778 new cases of COVID-19, the highest single-day jump in numbers since the state’s first coronavirus case in the first week of March. In the past four days alone, the state has registered 2,000 new cases, bringing its total to 6,427. The state has seen 283 deaths, 14 of them in the past 24 hours.
Mumbai continued to add the highest number of cases to the state’s account, registering 522 more in the last 24 hours, also its highest number per day. The total COVID-19 count in the city is now 4,205, or 65% of Maharashtra’s total, while six more deaths on Thursday passed to 137. BMC officials said, included in Thursday’s count, 297 cases were diagnosed by private laboratories between April 20. and on April 21.
The previous single-day biggest jump for Mumbai was April 19, with 456 cases.
Among those who tested positive was Maharashtra’s Minister of Housing, Jitendra Awhad. He was admitted to the hospital Tuesday night, 10 days after being quarantined at home after coming into contact with a person who tested positive for coronavirus.
Sources close to the NCP leader said he was transferred to a private hospital after developing a fever. A hospital spokesman said his condition was stable.
After Mumbai, Pune, which remains the second most affected in the state, saw five deaths, while one death occurred in Nandurbar, Navi Mumbai and Dhule. In Nandurbar, a 32-year-old merchant died on Wednesday night, one day after testing positive. Of the state’s 6,427 cases, more than 120, or about 2%, are critical.
Of the 14 who died Thursday, three were under the age of 40, nine between the ages of 40-59, and two over the age of 60. Seven of them also had diabetes, hypertension, asthma, or heart disease.
The Interministerial Central Team, sent by the Center to evaluate Mumbai’s efforts to fight COVID-19, told the government on Thursday to take steps to reduce the doubling rate and the death rate. The doubling rate in Maharashtra is currently 7 days, and the mortality rate is 4.5%. In Mumbai, the death rate is 4%. The team said efforts should be made to increase the doubling time to 10 days, according to a senior state government official present at meetings with central officials.
In a video conference with Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, the core team asked the state government to create quarantine facilities far from slums for people living in those areas, citing the threat posed by the use of the same public toilets.
According to a statement issued by the CM office, the core team led by the additional secretary of the Ministry of Food Processing Industry, Manoj Joshi, spoke specifically about Dharavi. The statement said Joshi also told the state government to increase its institutional quarantine capacity and to conduct more specific tests.
The core five-member team that has been in Mumbai for the past three days also said that private hospitals and nursing homes should not refuse treatment to patients who do not have COVID.
Thackeray asked the state administration to implement the suggestions immediately, and told BMC to publish information on fever hospitals and clinics with COVID and without COVID.
Maharashtra has collected more than 96,000 samples for testing, while more than one lakh of people are in quarantine. Of these, 8,702 remain in institutional quarantine. The government said it had simplified its treatment protocol to keep critically ill beds free. While the state has 2,509 fans, it has placed orders for 2,000 more.
Authorities said Maharashtra is running 944 camps for migrant workers, providing them with food, shelter and mental counseling. A state official said 46,436 workers had been counseled about the coronavirus. “Those with severe mental illness are admitted for treatment,” said an official.
Among those present at the video conference with the core team were the Minister of Public Health, Rajesh Tope, the Chief Secretary, Ajoy Mehta, and the municipal commissioners of Mumbai and Pune.
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