Coronavirus outbreak: Maharashtra to surpass 1.1 million COVID-19 cases

Mumbai, Sep 16: Maharashtra is set to surpass another grim landmark of 1.1 million confirmed coronavirus cases on Wednesday. The state recorded 1,097,856 COVID-19 cases so far of which 3,05,243 were recorded in the first 15 days of this month. Its average number of daily cases comes to 20,349.

It can be seen that Maharashtra's highest death toll reported on Tuesday with 515 COVID deaths. The state crossed 30,000 fatalities on the day. The number of fatalities continues to be a concern for state authorities as it is still the highest in the country.

The numbers show that the state's contribution to total COVID-19 casualties is around 37.64 per cent, with 80,776 deaths reported across the country.

The state's overall positivity rate is hovering over 20% --Tuesday saw a positivity percentage of 23.28%. The state tested 87,944 samples of which 20,482 were positive. So far, the state has tested over 5,400,000 samples (5,409,060).

On Tuesday, the state government launched "My Family My Responsibility" campaign to tackle COVID-19. Under the campaign, health workers will conduct door-to-door surveys during which they will check residents' body temperature and oxygen levels, besides other symptoms, including tiredness, throat pain, dry cough, diarrhoea, and loss of smell and taste, officials said.

"Those with COVID-19 symptoms will be recommended a swab test. People with ailments such as diabetes, heart and kidney disease as well as obesity will be referred for treatment. Besides, health workers will also impart health education to people, especially on COVID-19," said a health official.

Each team comprising a health worker and two volunteers will survey each and every family of the state twice in over a month. The state is also assigning one doctor to five teams. The first phase of the survey is starting Tuesday. The volunteers are expected to complete it by October 10. The second phase will be conducted between October 12 and 24.