Delta Plus variant cases rise to 65 in Maharashtra

With 20 more cases of the Delta Plus variant emerging in Maharashtra in the genome sequencing tests, the number of cases of the latest virus mutation rose to 65, said authorities on Wednesday.

As per the Health Department, sevenof the 20 cases have emerged from Mumbai city, three from Pune and two each from Nanded, Raigad, Palghar and Gondia among other areas.

Of the 65 cases, 32 samples are men and the remaining 33 women while the majority of them (33 cases) are in the 19 to 45 age group.

Death of an octogenarian lady

“Apart from the single death of an octogenarian lady in Ratnagiri a month ago, all the other cases are mild. More than 80% of the samples tested thus far are the Delta variant. In cases where the samples so tested turn out to be of the variant, there is no need for the public to panic,” said State Surveillance Officer Dr. Pradeep Awate.

Maharashtra reported 6,944 recoveries on Wednesday as against 5,560 cases which saw the State’s active case tally dip further to 64,570.

The toll, however, saw a sharp spike with 163 deaths pushing the cumulative fatalities to 1,34,364. The case fatality rate stands at 2.1%.

The total cases have reached 63,69,002 while its cumulative recoveries have risen to 61,66,620 with the recovery rate standing at 96.82%.

“Of the 5,01,16,137 laboratory samples tested thus far, 63,69,002 [with the average case positivity falling incrementally to 12.71%] have returned positive with over 2.11 lakh samples being tested in the last 24 hours,” said Dr. Awate.

Pune reports 1,100 cases

Pune reported nearly 1,100 cases taking its cases to 10,99,851 while nine deaths pushed the total death toll over 18,430. As per district authorities, the active case tally stands at a little over 7,900.

Mumbai reported 285 cases to take its tally to 7,38,239 while the active count has declined to 4,212. Nine fatalities took the city’s death count to 15,968.

Ahmednagar continues to see a rise in cases reporting more than 830 and 19 deaths, taking its cases to 2,94,758 of whom 5,231 are active. The district’s cumulative toll has risen to 6,304.

Satara reported 594 cases and 28 deaths to take the case tally to 2,26,151 of whom 6,239 are active, while the toll climbed to 5,471.

Neighbouring Sangli reported more than 550 cases and 12 deaths. The case tally stands at 1,92,215 with the active cases falling to 6,964 while its toll reached 5,217.

Kolhapur reported more than 300 cases, taking its tally to 1,99,490. The active cases fell incrementally to 4,427. As many as 15 deaths were reported, taking the cumulative toll to 5,647.