Maharashtra sees 2345 new COVID-19 cases; state tally soars to 41642 and 1454 deaths

In its continued rising trend, Maharashtra's coronavirus (COVID-19) cases almost doubled,  reporting 2345 cases and 64 deaths in the past 24 hours, on Thursday. The state has also seen 11726 people recover till date. The state's tally stands at 41642 cases with the death toll at 1454 - Mumbai amounts to 25500 cases and 882 deaths.

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Maharashtra: 2345 new cases

As of date, the state has tested 3,19,710 samples - of which 2,78,068 have tested negative and 41,642 (14.97%) testing positive. Meanwhile, the ICMR has not yet approved pool testing in Maharashtra, as it does not fulfill its criteria. According to ICMR guidelines, to conduct pool testing, less than 2% of the total tests conducted should be positive, but Maharashtra has 14.97% as its infection rate.

Railways cancels intra-state tickets within Maharashtra, cites inter-district travel ban

Maharashtra redefines COVID-19 zones

After extending lockdown till May 30, the state has divided its COVID-19 zones as “red zones” and “non-red zones", instead of red, orange, and green zones - based on death count and doubling rate. As per the new definition, Maharashtra's red zones are Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Pune, Solapur, Aurangabad, Malegaon, Nashik, Dhule, Jalgoan, Akola and Amravati, while the rest of the state are non-red zones. While stringent restrictions prevalent in the previous red zones, the rest of the state has been allowed to open up as per MHA's Lockdown 4.0 guidelines.

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Maharashtra's relaxations

The state government has allowed the home delivery of Indian-made foreign liquor- spirits, beer, mild liquors, and wines throughout the state, except Mumbai. Even though the liquor shops were permitted to open in the third phase of the nationwide lockdown, they were closed down in many cities such as Mumbai after social distancing norms were violated. The government has also sanctioned Rs.54.75 crore from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund to purchase train tickets for the migrants. The state has also received 10 companies of  CAPF from Centre to aid the Maharashtra police.

While 20 lakh migrants, mostly from Bihar and West Bengal, have registered with Maharashtra govt to return to their home states, hundreds of migrants have often crowded outside stations in Mumbai, Palghar in the hopes of boarding these trains. The MHA has recently stepped in and allowed Railways to run Shramik trains without receiving states' permission. Hence, Railways has cancelled intra-state tickets in Maharashtra- citing the intra-state travel ban.

Maharashtra sees highest 1-day spike with 2347 cases; state extends lockdown till May 31