Thackeray mulling to run local trains for emergency services

-Maharashtra's Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has asked his administration to pursue talks with the Railway ministry on running special local train services in Mumbai for people involved in emergency services.

CM Thackeray, at a high-level meeting on Friday, checked on the State’s preparedness in battling COVID-19 as monsoon is knocking the door. Within the meeting, he also directed to supply personal protection equipment (PPE) kits to the private doctors too, so that they shall resume their clinics in monsoon.

Thackeray specified that a doctor's written recommendation is obligatory to conduct a coronavirus test. "If the doctors feel safe, they will open their clinics," he was quoted as saying.

Thackeray also mentioned that COVID-19 test laboratories have increased from two in March to 72 at the present, and shared that the State’s task force of 11 expert doctors has set a protocol on treating the patients.

"We have succeeded in bringing down the Covid-19 death rate to 3.3 percent and the recovery rate to 31 percent. The state has increased the amount of doubling the number of patients from three days in April to 14 days in May end," Uddhav Thackeray was quoted as saying.

Thackeray has also directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Commissioner Ajoy Mehta to offer a unique number to each bed available within the private hospitals. He also asked to update the knowledge on the dedicated dashboard.

Till Friday, Maharashtra has recorded a Total of 62,228 coronavirus positive cases. On Friday 29th May, the state reported 2,682 fresh COVID-19 cases and witnessed 116 deaths out of which 38 were recorded from Mumbai and 58 from Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) that covers Mumbai and surrounding areas. Out of 4,33,557 samples tested, the total number of active cases within the State is 33,133. Mumbai alone has recorded 36,932 cases and 1,173 fatalities thus far while 16,008 people have recovered within the capital.

Meanwhile, the State also observed a record of 8,381 COVID-19 patients discharged from hospitals, the health department said.

The patient doubling rate ie.the number of days during which the number of cases doubled within the State now is 15.7 days from the 11 days last week.

The recovery rate in Maharashtra is 43.38 percent and the death rate 3.37 percent.