Maharashtra sees 11,447 new COVID-19 cases; 23.33 lakh persons in home quarantine

On Friday, October 16, Maharashtra recorded 11,447 novel coronavirus cases taking the state's COVID-19 tally to 15,76,062. At present, there are 1,89,715 active cases in the state. With 13,885 COVID-19 patients discharged in the day, the number of recovered soared to 13,44,368. 

306 deaths- 56 from Pune, 37 from Mumbai, 22 from Solapur, 17 from Pimpri Chinchwad, 15 each from Sangli and Nagpur, 14 from Ratnagiri, 12 from Kolhapur, 10 each from Thane and Wardha, 8 from Nashik, 7 each from Washim, Satara and Jalgaon, 6 each from Osmanabad and Nanded, 5 each from Bhandara and Vasai Virar, 4 each from Navi Mumbai, Mira Bhayandar, Raigad, Panvel, Ahmednagar, Latur and Buldhana, three each from Amravati, Beed and Aurangabad, two each from Yavatmal and Akola and one each from Chandrapur, Hingoli, Sindhudurg, Nandurbar, Palghar and Bhiwandi were reported on Friday. 

Until now, a total of 41,502 persons in the state have died owing to COVID-19. So far, 79,89,693 samples have been tested for the novel coronavirus in labs operational across the state. While 23,33,522 persons are under home quarantine, 23,409 others have been admitted to institutional quarantine centres. The COVID-19 positivity rate, recovery rate, and fatality rate in Maharashtra stand at 19.73%, 85.3%, and 2.63% respectively. 

Read: COVID-19: Mumbai Reports 1,823 New Cases, 1,744 Recover

Read: 11 New Coronavirus Cases Found In Dharavi

Restrictions on local train travel to be eased

Earlier in the day, the Maharashtra government initiated a big step towards restoring normalcy in Mumbai amid the COVID-19 crisis. Kishor Raje Nimbalkar- the Secretary, Disaster Management, Relief and Rehabilitation Department requested the Railways to allow all women passengers to board local trains from October 17. Since the commencement of the nationwide coronavirus-induced lockdown on March 25, Mumbai Suburban Railway has been restricted for general passengers.

The state government has proposed that women passengers in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region with valid tickets should be allowed entry in the stations between 11 am- 3 pm and 7 pm onwards. However, it specified that the people working in essential services as notified by the Maharashtra government can access train services throughout the day. Moreover, Nimbalkar requested the Railways to increase the frequency of local trains as per the enhanced demand. 

Read: Coronavirus LIVE Updates: India's Active Cases Falls To 8 Lakhs; Ghulam Nabi Azad Infected