Maharashtra sees 9251 new COVID cases; CM Thackeray refuses to remove lockdown completely

Continuing its increasing trend, Maharashtra reported 9251 new Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases on Saturday with 257 new deaths. as per the state's health bulletin. The state has seen 7227 recoveries in past 24 hours, taking the cured tally to 2,07,194 (recovery rate - 56.55%). Maharashtra which tops all other states' COVID-19 tally has  3,66,368 cases and 13,389 deaths.

CM Uddhav Thackeray cautions against 'Mumbai COVID in control', refuses to reopen temples

Maharashtra: 9251 new cases

The state bulletin states that 8,94,509 people are in home quarantine and 44,603 people are in institutional
quarantine. With a 19.94% test positivity, till date 18,36,920 samples have been tested. In comparison to India's fatality rate of 2.34%, Maharashtra's fatality rate in the state stands at 3.65%.

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Thackeray cautions against early victory

Earlier in the day,  Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray talked about the ongoing war against Coronavirus (COVID-19) in a 48-minute conversation with Saamana executive editor Sanjay Raut. Commenting on Maharashtra over 3-lakh cases, he said that just as no one counted all Prime Ministers till date and took only Prime Minister Modi as the current leader, one must also not count those who had recovered from COVID. He added that the state government was focused on reducing fatalities by detecting the virus at an early stage, treating efficiently as there was no cure yet. Warning against early victory in Mumbai, he said, "I can't declare that the virus is under control in Mumbai because then we will become complacent".

When asked about Unlock 2, he said, "One can't lockdown suddenly or unlock suddenly. Either one must be prepared to have no lockdown as in the US. Are we prepared to do that? I am not. I am not Donald Trump and can't see my people suffering in front of my eyes." Thackeray also stated that one can't open Vada-pav stalls, local trains hurriedly as it may lead to fatalities of entire families.

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Satellite areas see COVID surge

As most neighbouring areas around Mumbai complete their extended lockdown, Thane's tally stands at  31,027 cases with 906 fatalities, Kalyan-Dombivali at 20,700 cases with 368 fatalities, Navi Mumbai at 14,832 and 394 deaths. Meanwhile, Pune which is second-worst hit city in the state, stands at 73,007 cases with 46,013 active cases and 1738 deaths. Mumbai - which still tops the state's COVID tally - has 1,08,060 cases and 6036 deaths.

Maharashtra's COVID-19 recovery rate surges to 55.99%, active case tally at 1,43,714