Maharashtra Reports Worrying Spike With 5,368 Fresh COVID Cases, Schools Will Not Be Closed For Now

Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope informed that schools will not be closed as of now.

Mumbai: A health worker collects a swab sample of a traveler to test for COVID-19, at Dadar railway station in Mumbai, Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021. (PTI Photo/Kunal Patil)

New Delhi: Maharashtra on Thursday continues to see a worrying surge in Coronavirus cases as the state reported 5,368 fresh infections, an increase of 1,468 cases over yesterday’s numbers. 

1,193 recoveries and 22 deaths were also recorded in the state while active cases reached 18,217.

The number of Omicron cases in Maharashtra has reached 450, with the state reporting 198 cases of the variant today. Out of these, 190 cases were found in Mumbai alone.

As per the health department’s statement, four other cases were reported from Thane and one each in Satara, Nanded, Pune MC, and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation.

Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope has urged citizens to avoid crowding and follow guidelines to avoid infection. He also informed that schools will not be closed as of now.

“Around 4,000 cases were reported in Mumbai today. Today’s positivity rate is 8.48 per cent. SGTF kits must be used to differentiate between Omicron and Delta plus variants. Vaccination drives to be done at full speed, everyone must be fully vaccinated”: Rajesh Tope said, as reported by news agency ANI.

“I urge everyone to avoid crowding and follow guidelines to avoid infection. School students (15-18 yrs) should be taken in batches to vaccination centres. This will result in a high rate of vaccination. Schools will not be closed as of now,” the Maharashtra Health Minister added.

Mumbai Reports 3,671 New Coronavirus Cases

Meanwhile, Maharashtra’s capital city Mumbai on Thursday recorded 3,671 new coronavirus cases, a 46.25 per cent increase over the previous day.

While the new daily spike is the highest since May 5, no new fatalities have been recorded in the financial capital of the country, news agency PTI reported.

According to the civic officials, Mumbai has reported zero fatalities for the seventh time in December. On December 25 as well no fatalities on account of the pandemic had been reported.

However, the daily infections have increased alarmingly in the last ten days as on December 20, only 283 infections were reported.

The number of active COVID-19 cases has also undergone a sharp uptick, from around 8,000 to 11,360 within 24 hours.

371 recovered patients were discharged from hospitals, taking total recoveries in Mumbai to 7,49,159. The city’s recovery rate is 96 per cent.

New COVID Wave Could Be Worse: Mumbai Mayor  

Amid the sharp surge in fresh cases, Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar on Thursday warned that the new wave of the coronavirus pandemic could be worse than the earlier two waves.

“The new wave could be more terrible, therefore Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself was issuing alerts to the states,” she told the media, as reported by PTI.

Earlier variants of the coronavirus infected mostly adults, but the latest variant is also infecting children, she emphasised, adding that “it is necessary to be careful”.

The Mumbai Mayor appealed to people to follow COVID-19-appropriate behavior, saying that she herself would be avoiding weddings and other gatherings till the Omicron crisis recedes.

(With Inputs From Agencies)