Covid cases soar to new high of 27K in Maharashtra

Mumbai, March 20 (IANS) The number of Covid-19 cases in Maharashtra jumped to a new high of 27,000-plus on Saturday, with deaths shooting up in the 'second wave' of the disease that has gripped the state, health officials said.The state recorded 27,126 new infections and 92 deaths on Saturday, taking up the tally to 24,49,147 and 53,300, respectively, both highest in the country.Simultaneously, the recovery rate came down from 90.42 per cent to 89.97 per cent, while the death rate stood at 2.18 per cent compared to 2.20 per cent a day earlier. The number of active cases in the state jumped from 177,560 on Friday to 191,006 on Saturday.The number of people sent to home isolation shot up to 918,408 while those shunted to institutional quarantine increased to 7,953 on Saturday.The developments came a day after Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray warned that "lockdown is an option in future" before the government and solicited peoples' voluntary cooperation as the new cases have surpassed all previous records.
--IANS qn/arm