Maharashtra sees record spike of over 8,800 new Covid-19 cases, total tally crosses 21.21 lakh

Maharashtra registered 8,807 new coronavirus cases and 80 deaths in a span of 24 hours. The numbers are significantly higher compared to Tuesday when the state had recorded 6,218 new infections.

The state Health Department said the total count of cases reported in the state has gone up to 21,21,119, including 59,358 active cases.

The state saw 2,772 recoveries in the last 24 hours and the total number of recoveries has gone up to 20,08,623. The death toll stands at 51,937.

Maharashtra continues to be one of the worst affected states in the country. The number of new cases in the state has seen a surge since 10 February, with daily figures crossing 6,000.

The state government has instructed all district collectors and municipal commissioners to increase testing, a senior minister said after a cabinet meeting here.

The Covid-19 situation in the state was reviewed during the meeting, said Minority Affairs Minister Nawab Malik.

"An instruction was given to increase the number of tests," he said while speaking to reporters.

On average, over 60,000 Covid-19 tests are being conducted in the state over the last two weeks.

Officials were also asked to carry out contact tracing of coronavirus patients more vigorously, Malik further added.

₹32,41,14,800: BMC collected fine from over 16 lakh people

Amid an upsurge in coronavirus infections in Maharashtra, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has collected ₹28 lakh fine from 14,000 people who were caught without face masks in public spaces.

Since March last year, the Mumbai civic body has collected ₹32,41,14,800 in fine from 16,02,536 persons for flouting the mask rule.

This comes in light of the rising number of coronavirus cases being reported in Maharashtra during the last few days.

Govt deputes special teams for 10 states

Meanwhile, the government has deputed high-level multi-disciplinary teams to visit ten states that have been witnessing a surge in the number of Covid-19 cases.

The central teams will visit Maharashtra, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Punjab, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir to ascertain the reason behind the spike in cases.

The teams will support the states in public health measures for targetted Covid response and management. The three-member teams are headed by joint secretary-level officers in the health ministry.