Active Covid-19 cases in Pune down by 50%: Deputy CM Ajit Pawar

Maharashtra's deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar said on Saturday that although active cases of coronavirus in Pune have fallen by nearly 50 percent, the government will adopt a wait-and-see policy.

Pawar, who is also the guardian minister of Pune, spoke to reporters after reviewing the COVID-19 situation in the district.

"In terms of COVID-19 cases worldwide, there is a decrease in new infections, but there is a marginal increase in the daily number of victims. It has been observed at the district, state, national and global levels," the minister said.

The number of active cases is down 30 percent in the country, while they are down 42 percent in the state, he said.

“Until last week, there were 90,000 active cases in Pune district, but the number has now fallen to 45,000. While cases are decreasing, we will adopt a wait-and-see policy in the coming days,” said Pawar.

Given the trend, schools for grades 1 to 8 can operate all day as opposed to half-day times, he said.

Talking about the vaccination campaign in the district, Pawar said that 86 percent of people have taken the second dose in the district.

"In Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad, the vaccination for children in the age group of 15-18 years is lagging. Due to the shortage of vaccines, we were unable to vaccinate children today. According to officials, we can administer vaccines on Monday." said the minister.

Pune reported 2,126 cases of COVID-19 on Friday, the highest number of any cities in the state on the day.