Doubling rate of coronavirus cases in Maha slowing down: Tope

The rate of doubling of coronavirus cases -- the period during which number of cases doubles -- in Maharashtra has fallen, state health minister Rajesh Tope said on Thursday.

In a video message, he also claimed that the state has not received enough N-95 masks and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits.

Tope also said that all the 1,400 persons who arrived in the state after attending Tablighi Jamaat meet in Delhi have been traced, and only 50 of them have tested positive for coronavirus. The rest have been quarantined, he said, without elaborating on their test status.

"We have demanded eight lakh N-95 masks and 1.

50 lakh PPE kits but received only one lakh masks and 30,000 kits," he said.

These masks and kits are worn by doctors and nurses.

"However, the state's doubling rate of COVID-19 cases has slowed down significantly. It was earlier two days which slowed down to three and a half days and now it is five and a half days.

It is a promising sign," said the minister.

"We have also sought permission from the Centre to use the plasma of recovered patients to treat infected people.

There has been research to support it, and we need official permission from ICMR," Tope said.

"Out of total number of coronavirus tests we have carried out in Maharashtra, half of them have been done in Mumbai city alone because of the high number of cases in the state capital," he said.

"Maharashtra is also setting up six more laboratories to carry out swab tests for coronavirus infection, taking the total number of laboratories to 36," he said.

The minister also admitted that Maharashtras mortality rate of coronavirus patients is higher than that of country.

He, however, pointed out that 83 per cent of COVID-19 victims in the state had existing illness such as diabetes, hypertension and Asthama.

The state has also sought permission for pool testing as well as mass rapid tests from the Indian Council for Medical Research, Tope said.