Maharashtra COVID Crisis: 8,000+ New Cases; 190 Students Test Positive At Washim Hostel

As Maharashtra battles a surge in coronavirus cases, the state has recorded a total of 8,807 fresh cases on Wednesday, the highest in 129 days. The state also reported 80 deaths, highest in two months since December 24, when 89 deaths were reported. With this, the total cases in the state jumped to 21,21,119 and the toll touched 51,937.

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190 infected in school hostel

Additionally, 190 cases have emerged from a single hostel in a school in Washim district. Those who tested positive are 186 students and four teachers. The school premises have been declared a containment zone. The students are mostly from Amravati and Yavatmal, two districts that have contributed to a spike in virus cases in recent weeks.

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Washim has been in the news over a large gathering near a temple on Tuesday in violation of Covid restrictions. Scores of supporters of Shiv Sena minister Sanjay Rathod, whose name has been linked by the opposition to the death of a woman, gathered near the temple as he visited the shrine.

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Restrictions imposed

Meanwhile, the state government and Mumbai police have warned of strict measures if people do not follow virus protocol and restrictions. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray ordered action against those who defied rules and sought a report from the officials and the police. Thackeray, also the Shiv Sena president, stressed that the rules were same for all. Because of the rising cases, religious, social and political gatherings have been banned.

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Mumbai on the edge

Mumbai also saw a three-month high in daily COVID-19 cases. It reported 1,167 new infections, the highest in 119 days. The last time the city had more than 1,167 cases was on October 28, when 1,354 were detected and Mumbai was merely coming out of the peak. It is also after 88 days since November 28 (1,063) that the city has added over 1,000 cases in a day.

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The health department said in the meeting that despite a rise in average cases in February, the case fatality rate (CFR) is low. The daily average of cases in January was 2,973 and the case fatality rate was 1.7%. The daily average cases are 3,347 and total deaths reported in February are 775, taking the CFR to 0.4%. Mumbai circle on Wednesday reported 2,018 cases, highest in the state, followed by Pune circle with 1,811 cases. Akola and Nagpur circles from Vidarbha region that is currently the eye of the storm saw 1,679 and 1,323 cases, respectively.

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Two variants found in state

Two variants of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) have been detected in at least three states in India, the Union Health Ministry said on Tuesday, adding that there was no evidence to show that they were responsible for the fresh wave of infections. ¡°There are two variants in Maharashtra being talked about ¨C N440K variant and E484K variant. Yes, these variants are there in Maharashtra, Kerala and Telangana,¡± said Dr VK Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog.