Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Monday said that more COVID-19 tests are being conducted in Pune than Mumbai and hence, its cases tally is on the higher side. Pawar, who is also the Guardian Minister of the district, added that Pune is number one in the country on the testing front.
According to a TOI report, Mumbai conducts around 8,000 tests per day on an average, while Pune is nearly conducting 11,000 COVID-19 tests.
Pune divisional commissioner Saurabh Rao said that the rise in COVID-19 cases in Pune district was basically because of their aggressive testing approach. He said that the administration had been ramping up infrastructure and ensuring that high-risk contacts of COVID-19 patients were immediately identified and isolated.
However, Rao added that Pune and Mumbai should not be compared as both the cities are at different stages of the coronavirus infection and spread. "We have our own strategy, which revolves around aggressive testing, increased contact tracing and more infrastructure. I am confident that this strategy will bear results in near future,” Rao said.
Meanwhile, Pune district reported 1,829 new coronavirus cases on Monday, taking its count to 1,27,026. The death toll reached 3,104 with 82 more patients succumbing to the infection during the same period.
Also, 1,049 patients were discharged from hospitals. "Of the 1,829 cases, 835 were reported from Pune Municipal Corporation limits (the city), where the count went up to 74,933. With 681 cases, Pimpri-Chinchwad's rally rose to 36,078," a health official said.
The number of positive cases in rural and Pune Cantonment Board areas increased to 16,015, the official added.
Maharashtra's COVID-19 figures are as follows: Positive cases 6,04,358, new cases 8,493, deaths 20,265, discharged 4,28,514, active cases 1,55,268, people tested so far 32,06,248.
