In the last one month, the number of active covid-19 cases in Maharashtra has surged by 54 per cent. But officials say there is no sudden spike indicating a probable fourth wave.
On May 7, the state reported 253 new Covid-19 cases, taking the total active cases in the state to 1,277. A month earlier on April 7, the state had only 828 active Covid-19 cases.
At present, of the 36 districts, only 11 rural districts like Satara, Nandurbar, Amravati, Wardha, Gondia and Jalgaon have zero active cases. Nearly 61.39 per cent of the active cases were recorded in Mumbai, which as of May 7 had 784 Covid patients.
There are also growing concerns about the XE variant, However, officials said it is a combination of the BA.1 and BA.2 strains of Omron — which was the dominating variant in the third wave, and its sub-lineage will make no significant difference.
“As the Covid-19 restrictions were revoked on April 1, it was expected that the number of cases would rise. Even if we consider the spread of the XE variant, we haven’t noticed any sudden spike,” said Dr Pradeep Awate, state surveillance officer.
The hospitalization rate has been below 1 per cent. For instance on May 6, a total of 117 Covid cases were identified of which only four required hospitalisation.
But doctors are urging masking, especially in crowded places. “Patients with severe comorbidities are advised to get booster shots and wear masks both indoors and in crowded places. Masking doesn’t cause any harm but other than Covid-19 infection, it also saves from air pollution, so it is always suggested to wear the masks,” said Dr Pradeep Vyas, additional chief secretary.
Last week, Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope said if coronavirus cases continue to rise, the mandatory mask rule will return.
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