Mumbai: Maharashtra on Saturday recorded marginally fewer Covid-19 cases at 2,922 than Friday when the state had logged 3,081 infections. The state also reported one death on Saturday. Mumbai occupied a bulk of the total cases at 1,745 cases, which is fewer than that reported on Friday at 1,956 infections. The Test Positivity rate (TPR) also dipped in the state at 7.07% on Saturday down from 7.54% on Friday.
State surveillance officer Dr Pradeep Awate said there was no reason to panic. “Majority of these cases are from the Omicron variant, which was responsible for the third wave. Those being infected are being cured within three to four days,” said Dr Awate.
“Majority of the population has taken vaccines and many have even acquired herd immunity thus weakening the effect of the virus,” he added.
Dr Ishwar Gilada, secretary-general, Organised Medicine Academic Guild, agreed with this view. “The Covid-19 is assuming the form of the influenza virus which is very mild. The cases now are majorly asymptomatic and people are isolating at home,” said Dr Gilada.
So far, Maharashtra has reported 79,07,631 cases, while the death toll has reached 1,47,868. Mumbai has reported 10,78,022 cases so far and the death toll has mounted to 19,571.
The active cases in the state stand at 14,858 with Mumbai leading with 10,047, followed by Thane (2,460) and Pune (1,018), respectively.
The death toll has now reached 1,47,868 with Pune leading with 20,545 deaths, followed by Mumbai (19,571) and Thane (11,919).
Meanwhile, ahead of the reopening of schools, state school education minister Varsha Gaikwad on Saturday reiterated that all schools should follow Covid-appropriate behaviour and also encourage staff to get the precautionary dose. This will be the first time after two years that schools will reopen to full strength of staff and students for the new academic year.
Dated June 10, the circular is addressed to all schools in the state set to reopen on June 13 (except in Vidarbha where schools will reopen on June 27). “All staff members should be fully vaccinated and should be encouraged to opt for the booster dose as well. Students above the age of 12 years old should also be encouraged to get their vaccines,” states the circular.
“Schools should follow all covid appropriate behaviour and that includes checking the temperature of students at the time of school entry. Anyone found with high temperature, the school should inform parents and immediately opt for rapid antigen tests for other students who were in close contact,” adds the circular.
Similarly, state higher education minister Uday Samant also called for the reopening of colleges in a phased manner only for fully vaccinated staff and students only. All institutes were asked to adopt the hybrid teaching mode until further updates.
While schools are already following basic precautions like sanitisation and temperature checks, many are worried that social distancing will be difficult to follow on campus. “We will try to avoid large student gatherings anywhere on campus, but we cannot assure the same, especially in state schools where students are in large numbers,” said the principal of a state board school in Bandra.