Pune continues to be among districts in Maharashtra with high Covid-19 positivity

The data shows the cumulative active Covid cases in the state (2.3 lakh on June 1) have registered a drop of 24 per cent from the three lakh infections in September last year. According to a state health department report till June 1, the weekly Covid positivity rate in Maharashtra was 8.47 per cent. In the week May 5-11, the weekly Covid positivity rate in the state was 22.57 per cent, which has now come down to 8.47 per cent in the week May 26 to June 1.

There are 13 districts whose weekly Covid positivity rate is higher than the state average. These include Raigad (18.59 per cent), Ratnagiri (17.32 per cent), Satara (16.73 per cent), Sangli (16.10 per cent), Kolhapur (16.04 per cent), Pune (14.23 per cent), Buldhana (13.96 per cent), Sindhudurg (13.19 per cent), and Beed (9.06 per cent).

According to the state report, till June 1, there were a total of 30,092 active patients with Covid in Pune followed by 20,777 in Satara, 20,147 in Mumbai, 18,590 in Kolhapur and 18,339 in Thane. Of the total of 2.30 lakh persons infected with the disease in the state, at present, 44,036 are critical of which 15,854 are in intensive care units.

In a positive development, there are nine districts whose weekly Covid positivity rate is less than five per cent and these include Nagpur, Yavatmal, Nandurbar, Chandrapur, Gondia, Dhule, Jalna, Nanded and Jalgaon.

– Stay updated with the latest Pune news. Follow Express Pune on Twitter here and on Facebook here. You can also join our Express Pune Telegram channel here.

Dr Awate said that stepping out for essential works is necessary as there is a need to step up socio-economic activities. “However, it is important to observe Covid-appropriate behaviour and observe restrictions,” he added.

“People can catch the virus, and hence, it is both the responsibility of the public and state health department to bring down the positivity rate to less than 5 per cent in each district,” Dr Awate urged. He also appealed to citizens to avoid weekend picnics or celebrations in large groups.