Maharashtra reported 6,218 new COVID-19 cases, taking the tally to 21,12,312. (File)
After slipping below 5,000 for a day, new COVID-19 cases again crossed the 6,000-mark in Maharashtra today due to a spike in the Akola division, while 51 patients died, a multi-week high, in the state, the health department said.
The state reported 6,218 new COVID-19 cases, up from 5,210 on Monday, taking the tally to 21,12,312, it said.
The state -- which has witnessed an upsurge in COVID- 19 cases since February 10 -- reported 6,112 infections on February 19, followed by 6,281 on February 20 and 6,971 on February 21.
Maharashtra on Tuesday reported one of the highest fatality counts in recent times at 51, taking the death count to 51,857, said a health department official. Out of these 51 deaths, 32 occurred in the last 48 hours and 12 in the last week. Remaining seven deaths occurred in the period before the last week, he said.
The Akola division in Vidarbha reported the highest number of cases in the state at 1,392, leaving behind the Mumbai division, which usually leads the daily infection tally, at 1,250. The Akola division, which consists of Amravati, Yavatmal, Buldhana, Washim and Akola districts, has emerged as the new COVID-19 epicentre in Maharashtra.
Mumbai city reported 643 new cases, taking the cumulative COVID-19 tally to 3,20,532. Eight more deaths pushed the city's count to 11,454, the official said. With 1,250 new cases, the Mumbai divisions tally increased to 7,16,299, while 11 fresh deaths took the count to 19,768.
The Pune division also reported higher number of cases than the Mumbai division. With 1,288 cases, the Pune divisions tally reached 5,17,760, while the fatality count stood at 11,716.
"Pune city alone reported 679 cases, highest by a municipal corporation in the state. With this, the city's cumulative COVID-19 figures reached 2,05,437, while the death count stood at 4,566, the official said.
Within the Akola division, areas under the Amravati Municipal Corporation reported 515 cases and other parts of the district 271. Akola city (121), Yavatmal (165) and Buldhana (161) were the other major contributors, the official said.
The COVID-19 tally in the Akola division rose to 88,761, while eight more deaths pushed the count to 1,710, he said. Also, 5,869 patients were discharged from hospitals during the day, taking the state's recoveries to 20,05,851, the official said.
Maharashtra now has 53,409 active cases, he said. Currently, there are 2,79,288 people in home quarantine and 2,484 in institutional quarantine. With 67,488 more statewide coronavirus tests, the number of samples examined so far rose to 1,58,60,912.