Maharashtra: 206 villages in Aurangabad district become coronavirus-free

At least 206 out of 341

coronavirus-affected villages in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra have managed to beat the disease and have zero patients as on Friday, an official said.

Monitoring of containment zones and constant checks on elderly villagers has helped in controlling the spread of infection, Zilla Parishad chief executive officer Mangesh Gondavale said.

Out of 1,368 villages in the district, 341 had reported cases of COVID-19, of which 206 have managed to contain the outbreak, he said.

As many as 67 villages have not had a single patient in the last 28 days, no cases were detected in 63 villages in 14 days and 76 other areas don't have a patient as on Friday, the official said.

Among the 341 coronavirus-affected villages, 289 had recorded one to 10 cases, while 39 had detected 10 to 50 infections and 13 villages had more than 50 patients each, he said.

"We have continuously monitored residents of containment zones and kept a watch on senior citizens in buffer zones. This has helped in early detection of cases and kept the death rate comparatively low, the official said.

However, the shortage of rapid antigen testing kits has become a key constraint in the rural parts of the district, he said.

"We have placed an order for 30,000 testing kits. The supply of antigen kits is limited and so, we sometimes borrow them from other local governing bodies," Gondavale said.

Till July 28, there were 3,900 patients in rural Aurangabad and by August 28 the number rose to around 7,700, he said, pointing out that the rise was less compared to other districts.

As of now, the recovery rate in the rural areas stands at 77 per cent, he added.

There are 22 COVID-19 care centres, which have 2,005 beds, of which 586 are occupied, the official said, adding that there were plans to increase the bed capacity to 6,000.