Mumbai: Maharashtra's COVID-19 cases on Sunday jumped to a new high of over 30,000, with deaths also going up in the possible second wave’ that has gripped the state. Maharashtra’s recovery rate came down from 89.97 per cent to 89.32 per cent, while the death rate stood at 2.15 per cent, as compared to 2.18 per cent a day earlier, while the number of active cases jumped up sharply from 191,006 to 210,120.
Maharashtra witnessed 30,535 new infections, up from Saturday's 27,126, and 99 deaths, taking up the state total to 24,79,682 and toll to 53,399, respectively - both highest in India.
Mumbai and Pune continues to remain worst hit districts of the state as the duo shared 8,000 new cases, health officials said. For the first time, Mumbai figures have shot up over 3,000 to 3,779, and this is attributed to the rapid antigen tests being conducted at malls and public places to trace infectees as the city reels under the surge. Also, Pune district on Sunday also reported over 5,000 new cases.
The number of people sent to home isolation shot up to 969,867 while those shunted to institutional quarantine increased to 9,601 on Sunday. Pune saw the maximum fatalities, 25, while there were 17 deaths in Nagpur, 11 in Jalgaon, 10 in Mumbai, seven in Akola, four in Thane, three each in Nashik, Nandurbar, and Aurangabad, two each in Raigad, Satara, Ratnagiri, Beed, Nanded, Wardha, and Chandrapur, and one each in Sangli and Latur.
The developments came two days after Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray warned that "lockdown is an option in future" before the government, and solicited peoples' voluntary cooperation as the new cases surpassed all previous records.
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday said, "We have now the numbers that we had touched September last year. Lockdown is an option but I am sure the way citizens cooperated, they will do the same now."
(With inputs from IANS)