NAGPUR DISTRICT recorded 54 Covid-19 deaths on Saturday, the highest in the second wave so far.

Of these, 33 were recorded within municipal limits while 17 were from rural parts of the district. Four patients who died on Saturday were from outside the district. The highest fatality number of the district was 65 in September last year. The daily count of positive cases, however, came down from 4,094 (17,625 tests) to 3,688 (16,535 tests).

The district’s overall death toll from the beginning of the pandemic to date is 4,873 while the cumulative number of positive cases has gone up to 2,14,850.

As many as 3,227 patients recovered from the disease on Saturday, taking cumulative recovery to 1,72,634. The district has 37,343 active cases to date, 27,550 of them in the municipal area.

Buldhana continues to be the next major hotspot in Vidarbha, recording 1,130 new cases on Saturday. Akola (476), Yavatmal (418), Amravati (396), Washim (327), Chandrapur (223), Wardha (205), Bhandara (200), Gondia (100) and Gadchiroli (37) were other affected districts.

The region recorded its highest deaths at 75 in the second wave on Saturday. The only difference between the first and the second wave, however, is that the region had over 100 deaths even for just around 3,000 new cases on any given day during the first wave. Saturday’s deaths have come against 7,200 new cases.

Also, during the first wave, deceased patients were from different age groups, including the young and middle-aged. In the current wave, most are in the age group of 70 and above and, out of those, hospitalised just 24 hours before. For example, at Nagpur Government Medical College and Hospital, 230 patients died from March 1 to 26. Of them, 39 were brought dead and 48 were hospitalised 24 hours before. At Indira Gandhi Government Medical College, 175 people died in the corresponding period. Of them, six were brought dead and 47 were hospitalised 24 hours before.