Maharashtra launches 'chase the virus' campaign, doubling rate improves from 2 to 14 days

Mumbai : As doubling of coronavirus cases improved drastically in Maharashtra, the government launched a ‘chase the virus’ campaign to further contain the spread of COVID-19 infections across the state.

Under "Chase the virus" mission, 15 people who come in contact with the positive coronavirus patient would be strictly put in institutional quarantine. 

''The number of COVID-19 patients in Maharashtra is now doubling over a period of 14 days unlike every two days earlier and the death rate has been brought down to 3.25 per cent from 7.6 per cent in April,'' Maharashtra’s Chief Secretary Ajoy Mehta had said on Tuesday.

Earlier, on May 9, Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray had said that the state has failed in breaking the coronavirus chain. The state's mortality rate was 7.6% in April. 

"Success has been achieved in increasing the period over which the number of COVID-19 patients doubled in the state to 14 days from earlier 2 days," Mehta told reporters during a press conference held online. 

Mehta was accompanied by principal secretary of health department Pradeep Vyas and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Commissioner IS Chahal during the briefing.

Mehta said that 75,000 beds have been kept ready in Mumbai, which has emerged as the hotspot of the disease and the number of tests in Maharashtra is going up. The Chief Secretary added that 27 new laboratories will be operational in the state. At present, 72 laboratories are operational in Maharashtra.

Of the total 4,337 fatalities due to COVID-19, Maharashtra tops the tally with 1,792 deaths followed by Gujarat with 915 deaths, Madhya Pradesh with 305, Delhi with 288, West Bengal with 283, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh with 170 each, Tamil Nadu with 127 and Andhra Pradesh and Telangana with 57 deaths each.