Is Maharashtra heading towards community spread of Covid-19?

“ There is some evidence of community spread of Covid-19 in Mumbai and in other  parts of Maharashtra”, a state health official  told the  media.

Maharashtra disease surveillance officer Dr Pradip Awate told the  Hindustan Times that there  was  some evidence of community transmission of Covid-19 in parts of Mumbai and in other parts of Maharashtra, though the overall picture in the state is that of cluster cases.

“We are getting clusters of coronavirus cases in Mumbai and in the entire state of Maharashtra. There is some evidence of community spread not only in Mumbai but in other parts of the state, but the overall picture is that we are getting clusters of cases,” Awate  said.

He said Mumbai’s case is very different as compared to other regions in the country. It is densely populated and has a distinct socio-economic significance.

“Not only is it the capital of the Maharashtra but its socio-economic location is also quite different from many other metros in India. It has more population density. 20,000 people are living here per square kilometre, so that is one of the reasons why Mumbai is throwing so many Covid-19 cases,” he added.  

With respect to cases of community transmission, Dr Awate said, “We need to find out the linkage of each and every case, it’s travel history, likely exposure and all those things.”  

Maharashtra, which leads the national Covid-19 tally with over 22,000 cases, has recorded 832 deaths so far. Mumbai alone has reported more than 12,000 Covid-19 cases.  Thane and Pune are also among the top Covid-19 affected regions in the state.

According to the latest figures updated by the  Ministry of Health, the Covid-19 national tally stands at 67,152. There are 44,029 active coronavirus cases in the country, 20,916 patients have been cured or discharged while 2,206 people have died from the deadly contagion.