Mumbai is moving to ease restrictions necessitated by the devastating second wave of Covid (File)
New Delhi:
Maharashtra, the worst affected state in the country by the coronavirus pandemic, today reported 15,077 cases in 24 hours – lowest in three months. The daily death count has also dropped to a two-month low as the state reported 184 Covid fatalities today.
The state’s Covid fatality rate now stands at 1.66%, positivity rate at 16.39%.
The recovery rate has shot past 93% and 33,000 patients were discharged today. Currently, there are 2,53,367 active cases in Maharashtra.
The state capital Mumbai is moving to ease restrictions as the city also recorded a drop in daily cases. The curbs were necessitated by a deadly second sweep of coronavirus that crippled the country’s healthcare facilities and left many reeling under a shortage of medicines and oxygen.
The country’s financial capital logged 676 new cases today – a nearly three-and-a half-month low. It had recorded 645 cases in 24 hours on February 14. The city recorded 29 fatalities in the last 24 hours.
Mumbai’s civic body BMC has listed the guidelines for the graded reopening in an order issued today. All shops selling essential items will be allowed to be open between 7 am and 2 pm starting tomorrow till June 15. Shops selling non-essential commodities will be allowed to open on alternate days – shops on one side of the road will be allowed to open on Monday, Wednesday and Friday while shops on the other side on Tuesday and Thursday. The sides will be swapped every week.
All non-essential stores will however remain shut on weekends.
All business units must ensure social distancing, ensure everyone wears a mask and strictly follow all Covid protocols, the order said.
Mumbai, which was reporting record spike in daily cases, now has a positivity rate of 3.78% – anything below five per cent is considered safe by the World Health Organisation. The recovery rate of the city is at 94% while the doubling rate has reached 433 days, official data showed.
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday cautioned against letting the guards down even as the state reported a drop in infections. “I don’t know when and what date the third wave will come. So we should not let our guard down,” he said. The lockdown-like restrictions will remain in place till June 15 in Maharashtra.
India today saw the lowest daily rise in Covid cases in 50 days with 1.52 lakh fresh infections. The country has reported 3.29 lakh deaths since the pandemic broke – 3,218 fatalities have been reported since yesterday.