The state medical education minister Amit Deshmukh said on Monday that the state government had set up jumbo treatment facilities, ramped up testing and ensured effective home isolation to tackle the second wave of the infection, which was “unprecedented and four times stronger than the first one”. On the drop in numbers and the recovery rate climbing up steadily, the minister told reporters, “This is a satisfactory and comforting indication. I feel restrictions are working and the second wave numbers will soon come down if all of us adhere to COVID-19 norms.” The state government was planning to get vaccines from the international market to carry out a massive drive covering as many people as possible in a short period of time, the minister added.
“The situation in Maharashtra is coming under control day by day, and that is why we are working on increasing the number of people getting vaccinated. Therefore, the MVA government under Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray is planning to purchase vaccines from the international market in huge numbers,” Deshmukh claimed. The medical education minister also informed that MBBS examinations for the first, second and third year will be held in the first week of June. The country’s hardest-hit state, Maharashtra, reported yet another daily record for Covid-19 deaths on Sunday, registering 832 fatalities. Compared to the beginning of April, deaths have seen a jump of over 200% in the state. The state’s daily case detection saw a marginal dip on Sunday with 66,191 cases reported, down from 67,160 registered on Saturday. Cabinet minister Nawab Malik of the NCP on Sunday announced free Covid-19 vaccination for all citizens in the 18-45 age group in government and municipal hospitals across the state.