Pune: As Maharashtra battles with an explosion of novel coronavirus cases, the state from past few weeks is witnessing increase in number of cases. A possible second wave of COVID-19 seems to hover over the Mumbai-Pune belt as 5,574 cases were reported in these regions on Tuesday.

Maharashtra’s capital city Mumbai witnessed nearly 2,000 new cases in the last 24 hours, according to the city's civic body bulletin.

Mumbai on Tuesday again reported as many cases as 1,922, the second-highest single-day surge of the year. According to the data released by Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), 246 buildings in Mumbai (city) are sealed as there are more than five cases are found here, while 34 areas are now declared as as containment zones. The total number of positive patients in Mumbai on Tuesday stood at 3,47,581.

On the other hand, Mumbai’s neighbouring city, Pune from past few weeks is observing a sudden spurt in its daily case count as the cases surpass 3,500-mark for the first time in 2021. Pune district on Tuesday reported 3,574 new COVID-19 cases, taking its tally to 4,10,347, according to health department of the district. On the other side, the death tally in the district now stands at 9,440 with 12 more fatalities.

However, 1,577 patients were also discharged from the hospitals in the Pune division, bringing the total number of recoveries to 4,10,347. There are currently 24,204 active cases. Also, Pune Mayor has confirmed that complete lockdown is not necessary in the city.

Meanwhile, in a letter to the Uddhav Thackeray-led government, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan on Tuesday stated that Maharashtra is "in the beginning of a second wave of Covid-19 pandemic".

The team from Centre has asked state government to focus on containment strategies and ramp up the speed of vaccination campaign, especially in districts recording a sharp increase in infections.