With 811 fresh cases, Maharashtra's COVID-19 tally rises to 7628; 323 deaths reported

Maharashtra witnessed a huge leap in novel coronavirus cases after 811 confirmed novel coronavirus cases were reported on Saturday. This has propelled the state's COVID-19 tally to 7628. With a rise of 602 cases since Friday, Mumbai has now recorded 5049 cases and 191 deaths. The Maharashtra Public Health Department mentioned that 1076 persons had been discharged after full recovery. 

22 deaths- 13 in Mumbai, 4 in Pune and one each in Pune rural, Malegaon, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Dhule, and Solapur were reported in the day, taking the death toll in Maharashtra to 323. 13 of the deceased persons had high-risk co-morbidities such as diabetes, hypertension, asthma, heart disease, TB, etc. A total of 1,08,972 samples have been collected so far. Currently, 1,25,393 individuals are in home quarantine while 8,124 others have been admitted to a quarantine facility. There are 555 active containment zones in Maharashtra. 

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Lockdown to be extended? 

Sources in the Maharashtra government informed Republic TV earlier in the day that there was no possibility of lifting the lockdown in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and the Pune Metropolitan Region after May 3, when the national lockdown is set to end. As per these sources, such regions in the state shall continue to remain under lockdown due to the increasing number of cases. It is likely that the current restrictions will remain in place at least till June. 

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BMC directs reopening of private clinics

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has ordered the immediate reopening of private clinics in Mumbai. Penning a letter to all private practitioners on April 23, the BMC Executive Health Officer stated that many non-COVID patients were facing difficulty in accessing medical help after the emergence of the novel coronavirus pandemic. Stressing that medical services were essential services under the Epidemic Disease Act, 1897, the BMC called upon the private clinics to provide medical assistance to patients while following specific guidelines.

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