Pune reports 16,618 new infections, 10 more deaths

“The actual figures are probably five to ten times of the numbers being reported,” Dr Dhananjay Kelkar, medical director at Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital, said. He said most of the patients coming to hospitals were having only mild symptoms.

In the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) areas, 8,301 new cases were detected, a new all-time high. “Don’t bother about numbers right now. They are going to increase. We are keeping a close watch on the number of patients requiring oxygen or ventilator support at the ICUs,” Dr Sanjeev Wavare, assistant medical chief of PMC, said.

The weekly positivity rate in the district is now over 40 per cent and active cases have gone past 85,000. Of these, 2,786 patients are in hospitals right now.

Dr Amit Dravid, infectious diseases specialist at Noble Hospital, said most patients with mild symptoms were getting better with treatment within a few days.

Pimpri-Chinchwad reported 5,182 new cases on Friday, while 2,289 cases were detected in Pune rural areas.

The PMC has imposed the same restrictions in the city that were imposed by the state government in the entire state. However, the state government has now decided to reopen schools in the state while empowering the local bodies to take the decision on reopening of schools based on the local situation.

Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar would be taking a review of the Covid situation in the city to decide the strategy to contain the spread of the infection here. There is demand from a section of the society to reopen schools but Mayor Murlidhar Mohol has said the situation did not seem to be conducive to allow children to attend schools, adding the final decision would be taken in the review meeting on Saturday.

“Covid cases continuing to rise in the city is a cause for concern. Children are also being hospitalised with severe symptoms as against during the previous Covid waves,” Mohol said.