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COVID-19 restrictions likely to continue in Maharashtra till cases stabilise, says BMC Chief

Maharashtra on April 25 reported 66,191 fresh coronavirus positive cases and 832 fatalities

April 26, 2021 / 02:37 PM IST
Lockdown-like curbs imposed in Mumbai to curb coronavirus spread (File Image: AFP)

Lockdown-like curbs imposed in Mumbai to curb coronavirus spread (File Image: AFP)

The Maharashtra government is unlikely to ease COVID-19 restrictions in the state post May 1 if cases continue to rise unabated, BMC Commissioner Iqbal Chahal said on April 26.

Speaking to CNBC TV-18, Chahal said, "Restrictions are common for entire Maharashtra and cases are on the rise in some parts of the state. Maharashtra reports nearly 60,000 cases each day."

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The state government will think of easing restrictions only after the situation improves across Maharashtra, he added.

Chahal also said that Mumbai's mortality rate is among the lowest in the world.

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"The second wave in Mumbai started on February 10 and we are almost 76 days into it. In the last 76 days, we got 3.09 lakh new positive cases but I am very happy to state that out of these 3.09 lakh new cases, the number of deaths is only 1,319. That means our mortality rate has been 0.4 percent in this large sample of 3.09 lakh people who became positive and whom we treated," he said.

In charts | COVID-19 cases in India, state-wise trends, vaccination data, and other key details

Amid reports of Remdesivir shortage, Chahal said that there is no paucity of the antiviral drug in 40 BMC hospitals and state government hospitals.

"We have received 45,000 Remdesivirs till now after I issued the work orders on April 5 and our consumption is 3,200 per day. The Mylan company is maintaining that supply uninterruptedly and because of that, not a single patient in Mumbai is suffering due to lack of Remdesivir," he added.

Also read: Mumbai gets 1.5 lakh Covishield vaccines, oxygen supply normal: BMC Chief I S Chahal

Maharashtra on April 25 reported 66,191 fresh coronavirus positive cases and 832 fatalities, taking the tally of infections to 42,95,027 and the toll to 64,760, the state health department said. The state is now left with 6,98,354 active cases.

Meanwhile, Mumbai recorded 5,498 new coronavirus cases on the same day. The new additions took the city's COVID-19 tally to 6,27,644 while 64 fatalities pushed the toll to 12,790.

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first published: Apr 26, 2021 02:37 pm