With 46 deaths, India has its worst single day since coronavirus outbreak

The COVID-19 outbreak seems to be worsening in parts of India as the country reported over 700 fresh cases and 46 deaths — both new highs since the pandemic began — on Thursday.

The situation is particularly grim in Maharashtra, with the state reporting 25 more deaths on Thursday alone, the biggest spike so far in the state, taking the state’s death toll to 97 — the highest in India. Other states such as Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Delhi also saw a huge surge in cases.

Tamil Nadu reported 96 new cases, including 84 from “one cluster”, even as Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami warned of the state entering phase-III of the disease, while Gujarat reported 76 cases, with 50% of them being detected in Ahmedabad city.

In Delhi, three more persons died and 51 people tested positive for COVID-19.

In Maharashtra, among the 25 deaths, nine were recorded in Mumbai and the larger Mumbai metropolitan region, while Pune district saw 14 deaths. Among the deceased in Mumbai was a 101-year-old person. Of the 25 deceased, 12 were senior citizens.

The Mumbai-Pune belt was a cause for concern due to hotspots such as Dharavi and Worli.

At a cabinet meeting presided over by deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, the government expressed serious concern over the trend of people crowding bazaars and shops.

The Uddhav Thackeray-government is contemplating of shutting down these places for some time in certain areas.

State revenue minister Balasaheb Thorat told reporters that a complete lockdown for some period of time was extremely necessary to contain the outbreak.

“Crowds in markets need to be avoided. If a decision to shut markets is taken, such areas need to be finalised and crowds need to be stopped completely,” he said, adding that despite restrictions people are thronging markets.

Currently, people are allowed to step out of their homes to buy essential commodities and medicines. Some districts have imposed restrictions on timings as well.

“In congested areas like Dharavi, besides local police, SRPF has been called,” public health minister Rajesh Tope said, adding that drones would be used for crowd monitoring and fire brigade would use power jets to sanitize public toilets.