Coronavirus death toll reaches eight in Maharashtra, patients' count 203

MUMBAI: With as many as 22 persons testing positive for coronavirus in Maharashtra on Sunday, the number of COVID-19 patients in the state climbed to 203, state Health Minister Rajesh Tope said.

As the test reports of two persons who died in Mumbai and Buldhana district on Saturday, came positive for coronavirus, the COVID-19 death toll in the state went up to eight on Sunday, officials said.

"Of the 203 coronavirus positive patients, 85 are from Mumbai and 37 from Pune, Pimpri Chinchwad and rural area, 25 in Sangli, 23 in Thane region, 14 in Nagpur, five in Ahmednagar, four in Yavatmal, two in Satara two and one each from Aurangabad, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Kolhapur, Gondia, Jalgaon and Buldhana," Tope said.

So far, as many as 35 COVID-19 patients have been discharged after recovery, Tope said.

"They will have to observe a mandatory 14-day home quarantine," he said.

So far 17,151 people are under home quarantine while 960 are under institutional quarantine, he said.

"When asked about details of the people who are discharged after getting cured, Tope said, "Maximum number of people who got cured are from Mumbai (14). The others are from Pimpri Chinchwad (8), Pune (7), Yavatmal (3), while one each from Ahmednagar, Nagpur and Yavatmal."

Giving information about the two deceased persons, an official said, a 40-year-old woman had been admitted to a civic hospital in Mumbai on Saturday after she complained of severe respiratory distress.

"She died on Saturday and her sample was sent for testing. The report came out positive for coronavirus," the official said.

"The woman was complaining of breathlessness and chest pain since last three-four days. She was also suffering from hypertension," the official added.

In Buldhana, a 45-year-old man died at a government hospital on Saturday.

His test reports, which were received on Sunday, confirmed that he was coronavirus positive, Buldhana Collector Suman Chandra told PTI.

"He was shifted from a private facility to the Buldhana civil hospital at 7 pm on Saturday and he died at 9 pm. His report, which arrived today, showed that he had tested positive for coronavirus. Contact tracing and isolation of kin and others in his case is underway," she said.

Chandra said the deceased had a history of diabetes.

With these two deaths, the state toll has gone up to eight, a state health department official said.