Published 22:59 IST, July 4th 2020
Maharashtra crosses 2 lakh COVID cases with 7074 new cases; recovery rate at 54.02%
Hitting another alarming milestone, Maharashtra on Saturday crossed over 2 lakh Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases with 7074 cases reported in the past 24 hours
Hitting another alarming milestone, Maharashtra on Saturday crossed over 2 lakh Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases with 7074 cases reported in the past 24 hours - single highest daily surge. The state also saw 3395 patients recover, taking the recovered tally to 1,08,082 and recovery rate at 54.02%. The state also saw 295 fatalities - of which 124 deaths occurred in the last 48 hours and the remaining 171 are from the previous period. Maharashtra COVID-19 tally stands at 2,00,064 cases with 8671 fatalities.
Maharashtra crosses 2 lakh mark
As of date, Maharashtra has tested 10,80,975 samples of which 2,00,064 have been tested positive taking its positivity rate to 18.51%. The state has kept 5,96,038 people in home quarantine while 41,566 are in institutional quarantine. The state has tested 31,698 samples in the past 24 hours - the highest by any state.
Pawar to Uddhav: 'Listen to allies'
Earlier on Friday, NCP Supremo Sharad Pawar met with CM Uddhav Thackeray at the Balasaheb Thackeray memorial, amid rising complaints of NCP and Congress leaders about not being aware of the Uddhav Thackeray-led government's decision to extend the lockdown till July 31. Reports state that Pawar advised Thackeray to reconsider the ‘2-km rule’ in Mumbai and to keep the allies in loop while taking such decisions. He also reportedly advised against the frequent imposition of lockdown by local authorities, as it would hamper economic activities across the state. Several ministers from NCP and Congress have accused Uddhav Thackeray of depending more on bureaucrats than his ministers.
Maharashtra under lockdown
CM Thackeray has extended the COVID-19 lockdown in the state limited to containment zones till July 31. Additionally, unveiling phase-4 of ‘Mission Begin Again’, the government has allowed barber shops, saloons, spas and beauty parlours to reopen from June 28 for restricted entry with prior appointments only. Moreover, Maharashtra's capital - Mumbai has been put under section 144 till July 15 - with movements restricted to 2 km from one's residence. Travel beyond that limit is allowed only for office commute, medical emergencies and essential services.
While section 144 has been imposed in the city, areas adjoining Mumbai - the municipal corporations of Thane, Navi Mumbai, Kalyan-Dombivli, Mira-Bhayandar, Ulhansnagar, Panvel and Bhiwandi will be under complete lockdown for ten days from Friday onwards. While Mumbai is still the major contributor to the state's COVID-19 cases, the satellite areas have seen a rapid rise in cases - Thane stands at 17,652, Kalyan at 9804, Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) at 8934. This re-imposition of lockdown comes after CM Udhhav Thackeray empowered DMs to decide to impose lockdown wherever necessary.
Updated 22:59 IST, July 4th 2020