On Monday, Maharashtra recorded 3,643 new Covid-19 infections, including 27 cases of the Delta Plus variant, while the state government said it was fully prepared to deal with the pandemic’s possible third wave, which could result in as many as 400,000-500,000 infections per day across the country, necessitating 200,000 dedicated intensive care unit (ICU) beds to deal with a projected 23 percent mortality rate.
“We have taken steps to fill the vacancies (of medical staff), ensure maximum level of oxygen, additional budget as well as making available the medicines to face the surge in cases,” Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope said, and added that the government was fully geared up to meet any challenges from a possible third wave.
The Empowered Group-1 of Niti Aayog, led by V K Paul, has also projected a state-by-state requirement for ICU beds in the third wave. According to their estimates, Uttar Pradesh will require the most ICU beds (33,000), followed by Maharashtra (17,865), and Bihar (17,480).
Ameet Mandot, director, Gut Clinic, said citizens should follow Covid-19 appropriate behaviour to beat the third wave. “Citizens should act responsibly by wearing masks, observing social distance and not taking part in mass gatherings,” said Dr Mandot. “The government needs to speed up the vaccination drive as this will mitigate the possibility of the third wave,” he added.
In comparison to the first wave last year, the Covid-19 second wave infected and killed more people this year.
On Monday, Mumbai saw 225 new Covid cases, with four deaths, bringing the city’s death toll to 15,951 and the state’s toll to 136,067. There have been 6,428,294 Covid-19 infections in Maharashtra so far, with 49,924 active patients.
Pune is at the top of the list with 11,746 active patients, followed by Thane with 6,942 and Satara with 5,800. Pune also has the highest number of Covid-related deaths in Maharashtra, with 18,864 deaths, followed by 15,951 in Mumbai and 11,241 in Thane.
On Monday, 153,558 Covid tests were performed across the state.
Six cases each from Amravati and Gadchiroli, five from Nagpur, four from Ahmednagar, three from Yavatmal, two from Nashik, and one from Bhandara are among the 27 Delta Plus cases discovered on Monday.
