Maharashtra: 50 lakh could be infected in possible third wave of Covid-19, says minister
1 min read 25 Jun 2021, 10:46 PM ISTSpeaking to reporters at Buldhana, Minister Shingne said the third wave of Covid-19 could have eight lakh active cases at its peak
PremiumNearly 50 lakh people including five lakh children could be infected in Maharashtra in a possible third wave of the coronavirus pandemic, state Food and Drug Administration Minister Rajendra Shingne said today.
Speaking to reporters at Buldhana, Shingne said the third wave of Covid-19 could have eight lakh active cases at its peak.
"About five lakh children may be infected, of which 2.5 lakh may need admission in government hospitals. All these possibilities were discussed during this week's cabinet meeting chaired by chief minister Uddhav Thackeray," the minister added.
The Maharashtra government was taking steps to face a possible third wave by ramping up health infrastructure, ensuring adequate stock of medicines and keeping ready healthcare staff including pediatriacians for deployment, Shingne stated.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra on Friday reported 9,677 fresh cases of coronavirus and 156 deaths, taking its infection tally to 60,17,035, and death toll to 1,20,370, the state health department said in a release.
Of 156 deaths, 117 occurred in the last 48 hours and 39 in the last week. Also, 355 deaths, which had taken place earlier were added to the cumulative tally on Friday.
The reconciliation of cases in Mumbai was complete with the removal of duplication, which brought down the caseload in the state capital by 4,467. The state's caseload too decreased by 73 after the reconciliation of figures, the release said.
As many as 10,138 Covid-19 patients were discharged from hospitals on Friday, taking the total of recoveries to 57,72,799.
There are 1,20,715 active cases in the state now. The recovery rate is 95.94% while the case fatality rate is 2%. There are 6,33,748 people in home quarantine while 4,248 are in institutional quarantine.
With 2,36,034 tests conducted on Friday, the tally of samples tested for coronavirus reached 4,05,96,965.
