News Analysis India

Tag: rural Maharashtra

  • COVID: Positivity, mortality rates rise as rural Maharashtra becomes a concern

    Express News Service
    MUMBAI: Covid-19 positivity rate in Mumbai has come down from 17 to 9% while positive cases have been surging in rural Maharashtra with a high mortality rate, as per the state government’s weekly report.It said the Nandurbar tribal district has recorded the highest 2.93% mortality rate, in Hingoli it is 2.46 % and 2.33% in Sindhudurg. In Nanded, the mortality rate is 2.29% and 1.19% in Aurangabad.Maharashtra’s average mortality rate is 0.98% over the last week. There are 22 districts which are witnessing a surge in positive cases with a high mortality rate in the state.

    The report reveals that Covid positive patients’ weekly growth rate is also higher in rural areas. The 3.18% growth rate in Ratnagiri, 2.83% in Budhana, 2.67 per cent in Parbhani, 2.64% in Beed, and 2.60% growth rate of positive cases in Sindhurgh. In Mumbai the growth rate is 0.51% while the doubling ratio is 130 days with 90% per cent recovery.

    The weekly positivity is the highest in Palghar at 40.85%, while it is 39.25% in Budhana and 39.02% in Ahmednagar, 34.87% in Hingoli, 34.37% in Satara and 32.77% in Parbhani, 31.96% in Beed. In Pune, the positivity rate is 29.15%, while it is 29.20% in Nasik and 26.45% in Thane over the last week.State Health minister Rajesh Tope says positive cases are plummeting in 15 districts, but there is a surge in the remaining 22 districts in the state. He said lockdown has helped in containing the spread of the virus, but in rural Maharashtra, positive cases are rising.

    “In the urban localities, people are following lockdown measures strictly, but in rural areas, people are still casual, resulted in the spike in positive cases. If required, more stringent measures will be imposed to contain the spread of the virus and bring down positivity and mortality rates,” Tope said. Latur, the rural district of Maharashtra, is witnessing a major surge in positive cases. The local authority has declared a six-day lockdown starting Saturday at 7 am. So far, 1,467 patients have lost their lives and 65,015 patients have recovered in the district while there are 11,608 active Covid cases in Latur.

  • Study shows rural Maharashtra suffering more in onslaught of COVID second wave

    Express News Service
    MUMBAI: A weekly Maharashtra government report on the prevalence of Covid-19 has revealed that positivity and mortality rates are higher in the state’s rural districts than in big cities such as Mumbai and Pune. In Maharashtra, the highest weekly positivity rate of Covid-19 is in Osmanabad (39.25%) followed by Parbhani and Hingoli (36.78% and 36.70% respectively). Pune’s positivity rate is 30.43% while Nagpur’s positivity rate is 35.02%.

    The average positivity rate of Maharashtra was 25.17% from April 11 to 17. Most rural districts are included in the highest weekly positivity rates across the state. These include Jalna, Beed, Nandurbar, Nasik, Latur, Gondhia, Ahmednagar, Palghar, and Ratnagiri districts. The weekly report also revealed that the growth of Covid positive cases is more in the second wave than in the first wave. The first Covid wave in Mumbai saw 34,259 total active positive patients.

    In the second wave so far, the number stands at a staggering 85,221 — 249% growth. In Jalna, this growth is 345%. Beed, Latur and Parbhani witnessed 347%, 398% and 798% growth respectively from the first wave. “The cases suddenly started rising in the Vidarbha and Marathwada region and later spread across Maharashtra. No one had gauged the seriousness of the situation in the second wave. It caught everyone, including health experts, off guard. In April, it turned out to be a Covid tsunami,” said a government official.

    He said in February and March, people did not follow the Covid 19 norms and started attending weddings and other social and cultural functions in large numbers. “The virus spread rapidly in a short period and now we have a shortage of beds, Remdesivir doses and oxygen,” said the official.

    NCP minister Nawab Malik said for the last 10 days, the state’s positive cases have hovered between 60,000 and 67,000 while in other states, there is a steep rise. “We are confident of the Covid curve flattening soon in Maharashtra. We hope by April-end, things will be much better with more vaccinations and better health infrastructure,” he said.