Mumbai, April 3: Maharashtra reported nearly 50,000 COVID-19 cases on Saturday. The state witnessed its highest daily rise since the coronavirus pandemic began last year. On Saturday, 49,447 people were tested positive for coronavirus, taking the tally to 29, 53, 523. As many as 277 patients also lost their lives due to the deadly virus. The COVID-19 death toll in the state jumped to 55,656 on Saturday.

As per the state health department, only 37,821 patients recovered from the virus and were discharged from hospitals. The active cases in Maharashtra also crossed the four lakh mark. There are currently 4,01,172 active cases in the state. India Reports 89,129 New COVID-19 Cases in Past 24 Hours, Highest Single-Day Spike Since September 2020.

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Over 2.20 million people are in quarantine, either at home or in institutions. The state recovery rate dropped further on Saturday from 84.62 percent to 84.49 percent. The death rate worsened from 1.91 percent a day earlier to 1.88 per cent. Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, and Nagpur circles remained major concern areas due to the galloping figures of new cases and deaths, followed by Latur, Akola, Aurangabad and Kolhapur circles. Lockdown In Maharashtra Can Be Imposed If Current COVID-19 Situation Prevails, Warns CM Uddhav Thackeray.

Meanwhile, on Saturday, Mumbai also reported the highest daily coronavirus cases. The city witnessed 9,090 COVID-19 infections in the past 24 hours. A total of 27 deaths were also reported in the city, taking the fatality toll to 11,754. The Mumbai Circle - comprising Mumbai, Thane, Palghar and Raigad districts - notched its highest 15,989 cases in a day.

Due to the surge in COVID-19 cases in the city, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)  sealed 681 buildings, besides 70 slums/chawls across the city. Meanwhile, Meanwhile, the number of people sent to home isolation shot up from 21,01,999 to 21,57,135.

On Friday, state Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, during his address, urged people to follow COVID-19 protocol to curb the spread of the virus. Thackeray said that possibility of lockdown could not be ruled out in the state if the COVID-19 situation persists.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 03, 2021 09:27 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).