The reason behind the exorbitant rise of daily Covid-19 infections in Maharashtra has not yet been determined. However, available evidence suggests that a combination of various factors might have led to the ever-changing nature of the virus.
The nature of the virus, the person who has the virus and transmits it to others, and the overall environment of an area, including weather, pollution, housing structure, are the three factors behind the ups and downs of a virus, a senior state health official told PTI news agency. The same may apply to the sudden spike in the region of Vidarbha in Maharashtra, the official said.
Maharashtra, recording a four-month high, recorded 8,807 cases on Wednesday. 8,142 cases were registered on October 21 last year, followed by a gradual decline in the number of daily cases.
Factors behind Covid-19 spike
The rise has now spread to Mumbai and Pune, although the spurt was concentrated only in the Vidarbha area, comprising 11 districts of Akola, Amravati, Buldana, Yavatmal, Washim, Bhandara, Chandrapur, Gadchiroli, Gonda, Nagpur, and Wardha.
Dr Subhash Salunke, the Maharashtra government’s technical advisor on Covid-19, said earlier that if the spread is not controlled immediately, it would spread to other states.
In Maharashtra and some other states, mutant virus strains have been found. But these are not behind the surge, the ministry said, as some of these mutations have been present since last year.
A study on this is currently being done by the Pune-based National Institute of Virology and the National Centre for Disease Control in New Delhi and other labs, and samples from eight districts have been sent to find out if there is a correlation between the mutant strains and the surge, or among the surge in some states.
To contain the spread of what is being thought of as the second wave of Covid-19 in Maharashtra, several districts have imposed movement restrictions.
Mumbai reported the highest single-day spike of 1,167 cases on Wednesday. Nagpur district (barring Nagpur city) and Amravati city in Vidarbha saw a daily jump of 818 and 627 cases. Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad cities in Western Maharashtra reported a rise of 755 and 408 cases, respectively.
