PUNE: The number of active Covid-19 cases per million population has dropped 67% to 757 in Maharashtra, after hitting a high of more than 2,300 per million residents two weeks ago, state health department data showed.
With this, Maharashtra now trails six other states in India when it comes to active cases per million population.
Confirming the trend, hospitals and health experts said there has been a sudden and drastic reduction in Covid patients at OPDs and wards in the last one week.
“Mainly driven by the Omicron variant, everything about the third wave has been rapid, including its fast spread, quicker recoveries and a rapid fall,” Maharashtra task force member Dr Rahul Pandit told TOI. Dr Pandit said the BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron, which is the predominant one right now in India, has shown a rapid upsurge and equally fast downswing. “Though infectivity with the sub-variant is higher, its period of activity is relatively shorter. We are seeing that patients are recovering by day six or seven after symptom onset, which has not only helped people to get back to work quickly but also be up and about sooner. There is, however, still some Delta present in about 10-12% patients currently in the state. They are the ones who are spending longer time in hospitals,” he said.
Sanjay Lalwani, medical director of the Bharati Vidyapeeth Medical Hospital and Research Centre, said even the number of those admitted in the ICUs, but recovered and went back home was higher during the third wave. “With high infection rate in the Omicron wave (and thus better immunity post infection) as well as high vaccination, Covid could become endemic by June 2022 if no new variant of concern comes about,” Dr Lalwani said.
Data showed that among the states with high absolute active cases, at least nine, including Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Telangana, Odisha have active Covid cases less than 1,000/million residents.
