Maharashtra: 23 labs functional across state for COVID-19 diagnosis

The network of laboratories for testing COVID-19 cases has been expanded across the country with 23 laboratories being established in Maharashtra alone, the State Health Department informed in a release on Tuesday.

Ten State-run labs and 13 private labs have been approved by ICMR for COVID-19 diagnosis, which reported 82 new positive cases on March 31, taking the total number of cases in Maharashtra over 300. Out of the new cases, 59 have been reported from Mumbai, 13 from urban areas around Mumbai, 5 from Pune, 3 from Ahmednagar and 2 from Buldhana.

Here is a breakdown of the total COVID-19 cases reported across Maharashtra till date:

Sr. No.	District/Municipal Corporation	COVID-19 cases	Deaths
1	Mumbai	151	7
2	Pune (city and rural)	48	1
3	Sangli	25	0
4	Thane division (other than Mumbai)	36	1*
5	Nagpur	16	0
6	Ahmednagar	8	0
7	Yavatmal	4	0
8	Buldhana	3	1
9	Satara, Kolhapur	2 each	0
10	Aurangabad, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Gondia, Jalgaon, Nashik	1 each	0
11	Other states – Gujarat	1	0
	Total	302	10

*Death in Mumbai region

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COVID-19 crisis in Maharashtra

A total of 406 patients were hospitalized on Tuesday in the state. From 6,331 laboratory samples, 5780 tested negative and 302 have tested positive for Coronavirus until March 31. Meanwhile, 39 patients have been discharged to date after full recovery.

Besides, 23,913 people are under home quarantine and 1,434 people are in institutional quarantine. As a preventive measure to control the spread of COVID-19, isolation wards have been created in all District Hospitals and Government Medical Colleges in Maharashtra.

READ | Five Coronavirus Patients In Maha Are In ICU: Health Minister

Measures to combat the pandemic

The Maharashtra government has taken numerous steps to combat the novel Coronavirus crisis. First, gyms, swimming schools, theatres, and all educational institutions in the state were closed until March 31. Thereafter, Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray imposed Section 144 in the urban areas followed by a complete curfew across the state.

This was superseded by the nationwide lockdown announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from March 25 onwards. Since then, Uddhav Thackeray has repeatedly appealed to everyone, including migrant workers to stay put wherever they are. The state government has set up 262 relief camps across Maharashtra which is providing shelter and food to 70,399 migrant workers. 

READ | COVID-19: Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray Speaks To Frontline Pune & Mumbai Hospital Staff

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