By – Raju Vernekar
The death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 10 with the death of a 65-year-old man( who had recently returned from UAE with his family) at a hospital in Mumbai, thus becoming fourth case in Maharashtra on Monday.
While 25 new cases were registered on Tuesday, the number of positive patients rose to 492. While the countrywide death toll stood as- Karnataka 1, Delhi 1, Maharashtra 4, Punjab 1, Bihar 1, Gujarat 1 and West Bengal one. Total =10.
The 65 year old man had come to India on 15 March and was admitted to Kasturba Hospital on 23 March. He was suffering from respiratory ailments and was isolated. He passed away on Tuesday.
Similarly on Monday, in Maharashtra, four persons (two men, two women) from Islampura in Sangli district, who had returned from Haj pilgrimage, a fortnight back, tested positive. They have been admitted to Miraj Civil Hospital. Initially, they took local medical treatment and approached government medical authorities only when their ailment was aggravated. Why they were not quarantined earlier is being inquired by the district administration.
In another case, a 45 year old woman from Satara tested positive on Monday. She has been admitted to a local hospital and her condition was described as stable. She is also suffering from high blood pressure and cough. She was brought to the hospital on Sunday and was shifted immediately to isolation ward, District Civil Surgeon Dr. Amod Gadikar said.
With the addition of 8 new patients, the tally of positive cases in Maharashtra stood as: 38 Mumbai, 16 Pune, 12 Pimpri Chinchwad, 5 Navi Mumbai, 4 Kalyan, 4 Nagpur and 4 Yavatmal, 4 Sangli, 2 Ahmednagar, 2 Thane, 1 Satara,1 Panvel, 1 Ulhasnagar, 1 Aurangabad, 1 Ratnagiri and 1 Vasai Virar =97.
Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope said as of now 6 labs have been set up and from 27 March, a lab in every medical college will be set up so that the testing of swabs could be done faster. He also forewarned that there could be shortage of blood supply so that the donors should come forward to donate the blood. But the donors should not come in groups, to avoid probable spread of infection. The central government is also considering to allow private hospitals to carry out coronavirus tests, he added.
In another major development the first Covid 19 patient in Maharashtra, admitted to Naidu Hospital in Pune and 12 patients admitted to the Kasturba hospital have recovered and they will be discharged soon.
In the meanwhile the police have seized masks costing Rs 15 crore being sold in black market, and have arrested four persons. Besides, action has been taken against 122 people for violating a curfew imposed under section 144 CrPC.
