Mumbai, March 21 (IANS) The total number of coronavirus cases in Maharashtra shoot up to 63 on Saturday, with 11 new cases detected overnight among several foreign-returned persons, a Health Department official said here.
While one case is from Pune, ten are detected from Mumbai, including three with no history of foreign travel.
As Maharashtra continued to lead in the number of active cases, Health Minister Rajesh Tope again appealed to people to refrain from stepping out of their homes as 'isolation' is the key to battling the COVID-19 virus.
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday slapped a total ban on all non-essential services in Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur.
He added that the state has completely banned all flights from worst-hit 12 countries besides exercising extreme precautions for flights from all other nations at the three international airports in Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur since the past over a month.
Tope advised people to respond to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call and observe the 'Janata Curfew' on Sunday by remaining indoors.
On Tuesday, COVID-19 claimed it's the first victim in the state after a 63-year-old man with a history of travel to Dubai, passed away in Mumbai's Kasturba Hospital.
However, his wife and son, who also tested positive, are currently under treatment in the same hospital.
