'1000 COVID-19 deaths in Mumbai not added to state's fatality toll': Fadnavis to Maha CM

BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday wrote to Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray alleging that 1000 COVID-19 deaths in Mumbai had still not been reported in the state's overall fatality toll. He mentioned that the state government had earlier shown 1328 additional deaths as part of a data reconciliation exercise after his letter dated June 15. According to him, the data pertaining to the COVID-19 patients who had died outside the hospitals had not come on record yet. 

He stressed that it was essential that the deaths are added to the state's fatality toll on the same day or in 72 hours at the most. Fadnavis contended it was a very wrong strategy to gradually add the deaths that occurred over a period of three months. The BJP leader stated that COVID-19 data was necessary to understand the extent of the novel coronavirus spread. He called upon Thackeray to ensure that there is no delay in the reporting of COVID-19 deaths resulting in correct data being disseminated. 

Read: Mumbai: No Glitches In Oxygen Supply System At KEM Hospital, Says BMC

Read: BJP Demands Details As Mumbai Realtor Gets Medical-related Contract In BMC's COVID Project

4841 new cases in Maharashtra

Maharashtra's COVID-19 tally soared to 1,47,740 after 4,841 persons tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Thursday, June 25. There are 63,342 active cases in the state. With 3661 patients being discharged in the day, the total number of recovered rose to 77,453. 192 deaths were reported on Thursday, propelling the state's fatality toll to 6,931. 

As per the state Public Health Department, the patient doubling rate has steadily increased in the last three months. Currently, the state's COVID-19 recovery rate and fatality rate stands at 52.42% and 4.69% respectively. So far, a total of 8,48,026 samples have been tested for the novel coronavirus. While 5,56,428 persons are in home quarantine, 33,952 others have been admitted to institutional quarantine centres. 

Read: Coronavirus Live Updates: India's Case Tally At 4.7 Lakhs; Recovery Rate At 57.43%

Central team to visit Maharashtra

Amid criticism about the handling of the COVID-19 situation in Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Telangana, a Central team led by Lav Aggarwal- the Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Health will visit these states from June 26-29. The team shall interact with the state officials and coordinate with them to strengthen the ongoing efforts for the management of COVID-19. While Maharashtra and Gujarat have seen a rising number of novel coronavirus cases, Telangana's COVID-19 fight has drawn flak for the lack of enough testing.