COVID-19: Maharashtra registers huge spike of 229 cases in a single day amid 97 deaths

Maharashtra registered its highest single-day rise in the novel coronavirus tally after 229 new COVID-19 cases were detected on Thursday. Currently, there are 1364 novel coronavirus cases in Maharashtra. Apart from this, 25 COVID-19 patients- 14 from Pune, 9 from Mumbai and one each from Malegaon and Ratnagiri passed away in the state propelling the death toll to 97.

The deceased individuals in Mumbai include a 101-year-old woman. 84% of the COVID-19 patients who passed away on Thursday had high-risk co-morbidities such as diabetes, hypertension, asthma and heart disease. Moreover, the Maharashtra government revealed that 35,533 and 4731 persons are in home quarantine and institutional quarantine respectively. A total of 30,766 individuals have been tested for COVID-19 in the state so far. 

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Maharashtra's fight against the novel coronavirus crisis

Maharashtra is the first state in India to cross a thousand novel coronavirus cases. This includes 876 cases from Mumbai itself. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has created 381 containment zones to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Addressing the residents of the state on Wednesday, Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray made an appeal to the retired soldiers having experience in medical corps, retired nurses and ward boys and unemployed medical professionals to join hands with the government in the fight against COVID-19. He stressed that the state deeply valued the services of individuals having such courage.

Also, wearing of masks has been made mandatory in multiple cities such as Mumbai, Thane, Pune, and Nashik. Earlier in the day, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla spoke to the Chief Secretary of Maharashtra to review the containment measures undertaken to tackle the novel coronavirus crisis.  As per sources, the Chief Secretary requested the assistance of paramilitary force to control the situation and infrastructural help. 

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