Maharashtra reported 39,544 new cases of coronavirus on Wednesday, as the state’s tally went up to 28,12,980, ANI reported, citing government data. The number of cases went up significantly from Tuesday’s count of 27,918 cases. However, the rise can also be attributed to the increase in testing, as the state conducted 1,67,078 tests on Wednesday, as compared to 1,29,876 on Tuesday.
The number of deaths also jumped from 139 on Tuesday to 227 on Wednesday, as the toll rose to 54,649. The active caseload stood at 3,56,243.
In capital Mumbai, 5,394 people tested positive and 15 people died, according to civic body Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. In this case too, the number of tests went up from 24,464 on Tuesday to 41,363 on Wednesday.
In Nagpur district, a total of 2,885 people tested positive, while 58 people died because of the infection, official data showed. Pune district reported 8,605 fresh cases and 56 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to ANI.
Meanwhile, in national Capital Delhi, the number of new cases almost doubled to 1,819 on Wednesday, from 992 on Tuesday, government data showed. But much like Maharashtra, testing in Delhi increased from 36,757 on Tuesday to 67,070 on Wednesday. Eleven people died in the city in the last 24 hours, while the number of active cases stood at 8,838.
Earlier during the day, authorities at the Delhi airport announced that they will conduct random coronavirus testing of passengers travelling to the city from other states. Meanwhile, the Centre on Wednesday asked states to reduce vaccine wastage and identify pockets where there has been low-coverage of the inoculation process. The third phase of vaccination, where all citizens above 45 years of age will be eligible for the shot, will begin from Thursday.
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