COVID-19 update: 338 resident doctors in Maharashtra test positive

The new cases included 79 Omicron infections, taking the tally of those infected with the new coronavirus variant to 797 in Maharashtra. (Representative image)

Amid a surge in COVID-19 cases driven by the new Omicron variant, 338 resident doctors at various hospitals in Maharashtra have tested positive for coronavirus in the last four days.

“A total of 338 resident doctors from various hospitals have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last four days,” Dr Avinash Dahiphale, the president of Maharashtra State Association of Resident Doctors (MARD), told news agency ANI.

This comes as Maharashtra logged 36,265 new coronavirus cases on January 6, 36 percent more than the previous day with Mumbai alone registering 20,181 infections, a fresh record for the city, while 13 more patients succumbed to the disease, according to health department officials. The state reported 9,727 more cases compared to January 5 when 26,538 infections had come to light.

The new cases included 79 Omicron infections, taking the tally of those infected with the new coronavirus variant to 797.

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The new cases took the state's coronavirus tally to 67,93,297, while the death toll increased to 1,41,594.

The slum-dominated and densely populated Dharavi area of Mumbai recorded 107 new coronavirus cases, the highest since the pandemic began in March 2020, civic officials said on the day. The previous record of daily cases in the area was 99, recorded on April 8, 2021, during the second wave of the pandemic.

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A health department bulletin said 1,70,429 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours, taking their cumulative number in the state to 6,99,47,436. The state's active cases stand at 1,14,847, it added.

A total of 13,64,60,096 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in the state so far. Of this, 3,16,746 doses were administered to children in the age group of 15-17 years.