Maharashtra reports 36,265 new cases, Rajesh Tope speaks about Lockdown

Covid and Omicron cases continue to surge in the state, Maharashtra reports 36,265 new cases, Rajesh Tope speaks about Maharashtra Lockdown. Maharashtra Health minister Rajesh Tope on Thursday clarified that even while curbs were being discussed, there was no plan to shut down Mumbai’s local trains. Tope also reiterated that a Maharashtra lockdown was not on the cards.

The Maharashtra government will not shut down local trains, state Health Minister Rajesh Tope said on Thursday amidst a surge in Covid-19 cases. Tope also said that weekend lockdown and night curfew are being considered but the government has not reached a decision yet and that Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will decide on the restrictions.

“The number of cases growing but hospitalisations have not increased. Also, the number of casualties hasn’t increased, medical oxygen demand hasn’t gone up. In the coming days, we’ll conduct a sero-survey,” he told reporters on Thursday. The minister said that the state’s health infrastructure was being strengthened to fight the third wave. He also stressed the need to continue Maharashtra’s economic activities while urging people to avoid unnecessary gatherings.

Meanwhile, Mumbai’s Municipal Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal has asked private hospitals and nursing homes to restore their hospital bed capacity to what it was during the peak of the second wave. Maharashtra on Thursday reported 36,265 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, including 79 cases of Omicron variant, according to state health bulletin. The tally of active cases now stands at 1.14 lakh. The state has a total of 876 Omicron cases so far.

Maharashtra also recorded 13 deaths and 8,907 discharges today. Of the new daily cases, Mumbai reported 20,181 new cases of Covid-19 today with the death toll standing at 4. The positivity rate rose to 29.90% , the Municipal Corporation Greater Mumbai stated in a published report.

The strength of patients hospitalized in the last 24 hours stood at 1170 and the number of beds occupied being 5,998. The total number of active patients is now 79,260. Total Covid-19 related casualties now stands at 16,388. Mumbai’s recovery rate is now reported to be 88% with an overall growth rate being 0.99%.

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Dharavi reported 107 new Covid-19 infections, the highest ever spike in a day, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) stated. Earlier, Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar on Tuesday had said as per the Union government’s rules, lockdown will be imposed in the city if the daily COVID-19 cases cross the 20,000-mark. The financial capital of India is witnessing a surge in COVID-19 cases since last week.