Mumbai may cross 2,000 COVID cases today: Aditya Thackeray

Sounding an alarm on the rising novel coronavirus cases in the state, Maharashtra Cabinet Minister Aditya Thackeray on Wednesday said that the capital city Mumbai may see over 2,000 COVID-19 cases today, according to news agency ANI.

Speaking to reporters, Thackeray said, "Last week we were reporting 150 cases per day, now we are reporting around 2,000 cases per day. Mumbai may cross 2000 per day cases today."

Earlier today, Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope also expressed concern over the rise in the number of fresh as well as active COVID-19 cases in the state, and termed it as an ''alarming situation''.

 Tope urged people and authorities to exercise caution. He also emphasised on strict adherence to COVID-19 protocols and ramping up of vaccination against the infection. He said in the last 8-10 days, the active cases in the state stood in the range of 5,000-6,000.

On December 10, the state had 6,543 active cases, according to the health bulletin. On Tuesday, the state had 11,492 active cases. On Wednesday, the number of active cases could rise over 20,000, the minister said.

Maharashtra on Tuesday reported 2,172 fresh coronavirus cases, up by 50 per cent from 1,426 infections recorded a day before, and 22 new deaths. With these additions, the state's COVID-19 tally rose to 66,61,486, while the death toll increased to 1,41,476, as per the health department.

In terms of the Omicron variant spread in the country, the new and highly contagious variant of the virus, Maharashtra has so far reported a total of 167 cases.