Maharashtra, which has been witnessing a spike in COVID-19 cases for the past few days, reported 2,701 new cases of the virus on Wednesday, 8 June. According to the state Health Department, the figure is the highest in nearly four months.
The state capital Mumbai, meanwhile, saw 1,765 fresh COVID-19 cases, an increase from the 1,242 cases reported on Tuesday.
As many as 1327 patients were discharged on Wednesday, taking the total discharge count in the state to 77,41,143. No deaths were caused by COVID-19 on this day. Maharashtra currently has 9,806 active cases, of which 7,000 are in Mumbai.
While the state's recovery rate is at 98.0 percent, its case fatality rate stands at 1.87 percent.
Maharashtra had on Tuesday, 7 June, reported 1,881 new COVID-19 cases which were nearly 81 percent higher than the previous day's count of 1,036 cases.
What About Masks?
In the wake of rising COVID-19 cases, the state had said that masks were a "must" in public places and crowded areas. However, the wearing of the same has not been made mandatory yet.
Last week, in a letter to all district and municipal corporation heads, state Health Secretary Dr Pradeep Vyas said, "Masking in closed public spaces like trains, buses, cinemas, auditoriums, offices, hospitals, colleges, and schools is a must."
Vyas' letter came in the backdrop of an alarming letter from the Union Health Secretary to the state government voicing caution over the rising number of COVID-19 cases in six districts of the state.
(With inputs from PTI.)
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