Maharashtra Coronavirus HIGHLIGHTS: Nearly 6,000 new cases reported in a day, state tally over 16 lakh

Patients of coronavirus infection (Covid-19) in the moderate to severe category are taking a longer time to recover. Complaints of post-Covid fatigue and anxiety are common among those who were in home quarantine or had mild symptoms, while patients who have had a longer hospital stay face other challenges like extended need for oxygen due to lung damage, and counselling. Read More

Maharashtra on Monday recorded 5,984 new coronavirus cases, the lowest spike in the last several weeks, which took its caseload to 16,01,365, a health official said. 125 fatalities took the COVID-19 death toll in the state to 42,240, he added. On the other hand, 15,069 patients were discharged during the day, taking the number of recoveries in the state to 13,84,879. There are 1,73,759active cases. 81,85,778 people have been tested so far.

The number of COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra's Aurangabad district rose to 36,576 after 120 more people tested positive for the viral infection, an official said on Monday. Eight deaths due to COVID-19 were also reported in the district on Sunday, taking the toll to 1,034, he said. Out of the 120 fresh cases, 40 were reported from Aurangabad city, 53 from rural areas and 27 were detected by mobile swab collection teams, the official said. On Sunday, 234 patients were discharged after recovery, he said. (PTI)

The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) has extended RT-PCR test facility for passengers departing from the airport.

Till now, the airport had stationed testing kiosk for international passengers arriving from other countries, in line with the Civil Aviation Ministry directives. From Thursday, the new testing facility has been extended for departing passengers and their family members who come to see them off.

“The facility is located on the curbside of Level 4 at Terminal 2 for departing passenger; non-passengers can also opt to undergo the test at this location,” the CSMIA said in a statement. A negative coronavirus-free certificate will also be provided to departing passengers which they can produce at their destination to cut quarantine period, it said.

Mumbai Metro resumed its operations on Monday, months after being halted due to the coronavirus pandemic. Below are some visuals from the Ghatkopar metro station. 

The Maharashtra government on Saturday allowed gymnasiums and fitness centres across the state to resume operations from Dussehra on October 25. Closed since the coronavirus-induced lockdown began in March, gyms will have to operate in strict adherence with the standard operating procedures (SOP) released by the government.

In a virtual meeting with gym owners, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday made it clear that group activities like zumba, yoga and steam and common showers will not be permitted.

Maharashtra reported a single-day rise of 9,060 coronavirus positive cases on Sunday, taking the state's COVID 19 tally to 15,95,381, the health department said. The death of 150 patients due to the pandemic pushed the toll further to 42,115, it said in a statement. As many as 11,204 patients were discharged during the day. With this, the state's recovery count went up to 13,69,810. There are 1,82,973 active cases in the state now. So far 81,39,466 people have been tested, the department said.

The recovery rate from the COVID-19 infection in Thane district has crossed 90 per cent even as the number of cases reached 1,99,386, an official said on Sunday. The caseload includes 5,045 deaths and 1,79,847 people getting discharged post recovery, he informed. "The recovery rate in the district is now 90.20 per cent and mortality rate is 2.53 per cent. The number of active cases stands at 14,494 which is 7.27 per cent of the overall caseload," he said. The district administration's data showed the infection tally was led by Kalyan Dombivali with 47,594 cases, followed by Thane with 43,305, Navi Mumbai 41,973 and Mira Bhayander 21,212.

At a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has kept most senior citizens indoors, an 87-year-old doctor from Mul in Maharashtra's Chandrapur district has been going out of his way to attend to his patients in remote villages. With only his bicycle for company, Ramchandra Dandekar has been travelling barefoot for at least 10 km every day to villages in Mul, Pombhurna and Ballarshah talukas for the last 60 years, providing free doorstep treatment to people. The current health crisis has not deterred the practitioner of Homeopathy and Ayurveda from stepping out of his home. (PTI)

The metro services that are set to restart this week will have only one-third of the passenger traffic and the number of trains will be reduced to half of the pre-covid levels. The cut in services, passengers and operational timings are implemented to ensure passenger safety and other Covid prevention measures. Only 200 services will run as compared to 400 services earlier. Similarly against 1,350 people per service earlier, now the train will carry only 360 people.

Earlier this week, the Maharashtra government had allowed Metro services in the financial capital to resume from October 15, but the company decided to start it from Monday after finishing all the safety runs.

Other measures in place

• Temperatures inside the coaches will be maintained between 25-27 degree Celsius
• The use of digital tickets, smart cards would be encouraged
• No plastic tokens will be issued
• Regular disinfection at all stations and in all coaches

The Monorail service between Chembur and Sant Gadge Maharaj Chowk is set to resume operations from Sunday, a day ahead of the Metro 1 from Versova to Ghatkopar that will resume on Monday.

As the city unlocks, the Central Railway (CR) that started operations for essential services workers in July will add an additional 225 daily suburban train services, a move aimed at easing commuters’ crowding woes. The city reported 1,791 new cases of Covid-19 on Saturday.(Read Neeraj Tiwari's report here)

Pune district reported 946 COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the caseload to 3,13,645, while the death toll increased by 42 to touch 7,418, an official said on Saturday. A total of 860 people were discharged during the day, he added. (PTI)