Devendra Fadnavis apprises CM Uddhav about grim COVID-19 situation in Western Maharashtra

Former Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday alleged that Maharashtra's limited testing was exacerbating the COVID-19 situation in the state. For instance, he highlighted that the state contributed 21% and 38% of the country's novel coronavirus cases and deaths respectively. According to him, Maharashtra's positivity rate (19.15%) was more than the national average (8.57%) because it lagged behind in the tests conducted per million population.

Mentioning that Mumbai had a positivity rate of 13.63%, he reckoned that increasing testing was the only solution to bring back India's financial capital on track. He lamented that in August, the testing in Mumbai had been increased by only 14% as against Maharashtra which witnessed a 42% rise in testing. Currently, there are 1,98,866 active novel coronavirus cases while 5,84,537 patients have been discharged and 24,903 fatalities have been reported.

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Experiences of Western Maharashtra

In his letter to the Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Fadnavis listed his observations from his recent tour of Western Maharashtra. Noting that Satara had a positivity rate of 22%, he said that there were not enough beds for patients. Additionally, the BJP leader claimed that the implementation of the Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya Yojana was not up to the mark leading to several poor families facing a financial crisis.

He also cited the rapid rise in the COVID-19 positivity rate and fatality rate in Sangli and Kolhapur. Furthermore, he contended that Remdesivir was being made available to poor patients only in government hospitals, resulting in numerous complaints. Fadnavis requested Thackeray to take immediate action in this regard to ameliorate the economic burden of the common person. 

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15765 new cases in Maharashtra

On September 1, Maharashtra recorded 15,765 new novel coronavirus cases, propelling the state's COVID-19 tally to 8,08,306. At present, there are 1,98,523 active cases in the state. With 10,978 COVID-19 patients discharged in the day, the number of recovered soared to 5,84,537. 320 deaths were reported on Tuesday.

Until now, a total of 24,903 persons have died owing to COVID-19. While 13,79,519 persons are under home quarantine, 36,020 others have been admitted to institutional quarantine centres. The COVID-19 recovery rate and fatality rate in Maharashtra stands at 72.32%, and 3.08% respectively. 

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(Image credits: PTI)