Maharashtra on Wednesday recorded 46,723 fresh coronavirus cases
Maharashtra government today appealed to people and asked them to report to the concerned authorities if they test positive for Covid in a home test kit or rapid antigen test.
"It seems that there are large numbers of Covid Positive cases which have been tested on these kits but have not been reported to the concerned authorities and such persons appears to be in Home isolation," said Pradeep Vyas, Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Maharashtra in a letter to all state authorities.
Dr Vyas said that among all the tests being sent for genome sequencing, 70% were found to be the Delta variant of coronavirus.
He said that rapid antigen tests do not distinguish between the Delta and Omicron variant.
"It may so happen that many of these home isolated Covid Positive patients may need hospital care (particularly those with Delta strain and comorbidities) and suddenly there may be stress on our health infrastructure," Dr Vyas said.
He urged local authorities to educate people about the need to report Covid positive test results so that they can be monitored. He also suggested training pharmacy and medical shop owners to brief the customer when they purchase a Covid home test kit.
The state on Wednesday recorded 46,723 fresh coronavirus cases, a jump of 12,299 infections from a day ago, and 32 deaths. The new cases included 86 Omicron infections.
Of the 2.25 lakh active cases in Maharashtra, over 2 lakh are under home isolation, state Health Minister Rajesh Tope told media yesterday.
"There is no need to press the panic button. Though there is a rise in cases, the rate of hospitalisation stands at 2.8%," Mr Tope said.