MUMBAI: Maharashtra confirmed 1,045 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday, including 704 outbreaks in the Mumbai, the state capital. Maharashtra has 1,081 new Covid-19 cases reported on Wednesday.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has convened a meeting of the Covid-19 working team on Thursday in response to the unexpected increase in cases.
On May 1, Maharashtra had 169 Covid-19 cases, which had risen to 711 by May 31. According to official figures, Mumbai supplied 5,980 instances, or approximately 64%, of the total 9,354 cases added by the state in May.
Experts have cautioned that Maharashtra’s ‘tremendous’ increase of Covid-19 cases in May was mostly driven by the state’s major metropolis, Mumbai. The impending monsoon, according to a senior authority, might bring a wave of symptomatic cases.
During the early stages of the epidemic, the World Health Organization praised the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for successfully restricting the virus’s growth in the region where over six lakh people dwell.
Despite the constant rise in the incidence of infections, BMC commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal has urged authorities to scale up testing on a war footing and to keep personnel at ‘jumbo’ Covid facilities on high alert.
“The new cases (reported) daily have gone up tremendously in Mumbai, and with monsoon round the corner, we will now see a rapid rise in symptomatic cases,”
Iqbal Singh Chahal, BMC commissioner
Health experts warn that pandemic rules like as mask wearing and social separation, which were reverted to “voluntary mode” on April 2 this year due to a drop in cases, will need to be adhered to once more.
“The rise in cases could be due to multiple reasons. Vaccination coverage has slowed down, and is poor in the under-18 and booster dose segments. Moreover, the virus undergoes mutations to form new variants that are either more transmissible, or the immunity acquired by vaccination does not fully protect against them,” Dr. Trupti Gilada, an infectious disease expert at Masina Hospital in the city, stated.
“We should focus on ramping up vaccination, both for those below 18 years and the administration of booster doses. The mandatory gap between second dose and booster dose should be six months rather than the current nine months. With close to 20 crore vaccines lying with states and nearly three crore with Maharashtra alone, boosters should be made free for those eligible and who are willing,” Gilada said.
The spike in incidence, according to Dr Sanjith Saseedharan, consultant and head of Critical Care at Mahim’s S L Raheja Hospital, may well be related to the prevalence of BA.4 and BA.5 variations and the growth advantage they may have. On May 28, the state health department revealed that four patients with BA. 4 variations and three cases with BA. 5 variants of the Omicron sub-lineage of coronavirus had been discovered in Pune for the first time.
He also suggested that the general population’s increased mobility as a consequence of the relaxation or elimination of Covid-19 limitations might be contributing to the surge in instances.
Image source: HT_PRINT
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