New areas see huge spike in Maharashtra second wave

Express News Service

MUMBAI: The Covid-19 second wave has not only been lethal in Maharashtra, but it has spread to places where the first wave did not. That has resulted in a major surge in far-flung rural and tribal districts of the state.The average growth of positive cases in the second wave in Maharashtra has been 39.10 per cent, with 4,19,727 positive cases, as against 3,01,752 cases in the first wave last year.

According to data from the health department of Maharashtra, in the fast and furious second Covid-19 wave in the Washim district of Vidharbha, 4,046 positive cases were reported after 833 positive cases in the first wave. This means a whopping surge of 398 per cent in the second wave in this badly-affected district.Beed district comes second in terms of the highest surge in positive cases, which is 264 per cent. In the second wave, 11,177 positive cases were reported in this district. Last year in the first wave, this figure was  a much more acceptable 3,067.

The districts of Amaravati, Wardha and Hingoli reported 218 per cent, 203 per cent and 203 per cent surge in positive cases in the second wave. Nanded is the only district that has reported a decline in positive cases in the second wave, which is of 52 per cent. In the second wave, 3,340 positive cases were reported. In the first wave that swept across the state last year,  this figure in the district of Nanded was 6,998.

Nagpur has reported a 23 per cent surge in positive cases in the second wave, while Mumbai and Pune have reported 17 per cent and  16 per cent rise in the number of cases. Thane and Raigad distrcits have reported declines, of 18 per cent and 9 per cent, respectively, in the second wave.Across the state of Maharashtra, Pune has the highest 17.18 per cent active positive cases. Thi is 7.57 per cent in Mumbai and 6.73 per cent in Thane. In case of Nagpur and Solapur, the numbers are 6.38 per cent and 4.80 per cent.

Maharashtra’s Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said on Monday that the government was prepared, but did not anticipate the sheer scale of the second wave.“However, the state government is fully prepared to tackle the third wave. We have also roped in 17,000 local family doctors who will treat patients in home quarantine. Besides, enhancing the production of oxygen and other medical equipment is also our priority,” Thackeray said.