Maharashtra is likely to extend its lockdown till May 31, minister Rajesh Tope said on Wednesday after a cabinet meet as the state continued to grapple with a high number of coronavirus cases despite infections slowing down in the past few days.
Maharashtra reported 46,781 new coronavirus cases and 816 deaths on Wednesday. 58,805 patients were discharged in the last 24 hours.
The positivity rate has fallen to 17.36 per cent while the fatality rate is down to 1.49 per cent, the health department said.
Pune reported the 9,536 and 74 deaths while Mumbai saw 2,104 cases and 66 deaths.
India is in deep crisis in the current wave of COVID-19 infections with around 3.5 lakh cases and 4,000 deaths being reported daily. Hospitals and morgues are overflowing, medical staff is exhausted and oxygen and drugs are running short.
Many experts say the actual case tallies and deaths could be five to 10 times higher.
Despite being the global hub of vaccine manufacturing, India has managed to fully inoculate just 2.5 per cent of its population till Monday as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has been accused of not buying enough shots in time.
Faced with a public backlash for its handling of the pandemic and a bungled vaccination campaign, PM Modi and other top political leaders of his party have launched a drive to publicise the government's "positive" actions.
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