Maharashtra has 5,583 Covid-19 patients who are in critical condition and have been put on oxygen or ventilator support across various facilities in different parts of the state.

Around half of these patients (2,589) are in Mumbai and Pune, followed by Jalgaon, Solapur and Nashik, where the growth in cases and fatality rates are high.

According to the health department data submitted to the government on August 10, the state has 687 critical patients on ventilator support. There are 2,960 patients in critical condition who are on oxygen support inside intensive care units (ICUs), while 1,919 patients are on oxygen support outside ICU. The total Covid-19 patients who are in a critical condition form 3.77% of the total active cases (147,735) in the state on August 10. Seventeen patients who are in critical condition are also Covid patients but they have been given ventilator or oxygen support primarily because of complications from another ailment that they are ailing from.

Of the critical patients, 69% are in the 41-70 age group, while 28% are 51-60 years. Seventy-one percent of these patients are male.

According to the data, the districts or municipal corporations which have recorded high Covid fatality rates also have high number of critical patients. In Mumbai, 1,355 patients in critical condition are undergoing treatment at 67 hospitals. In Pune City there are 801 critical patients, while the number is 207 at Pimpri-Chinchwad and 226 in Pune Rural. Jalgaon has 404 critical patients, while Kolhapur and Solapur have 219 and 321 critical patients, respectively.

Dr Sadhana Tayade, director, directorate of health services, said, “We admit most of the serious patients in the ICU so that they are given utmost attention. We have been giving oxygen support to the patients who require it, as lack of oxygen level is the foremost symptom of the disease. Patients with pneumatic patches are kept on oxygen support. The percentage of the patients on the ventilator is less than 2% of the total number of critical patients. However, it is true that the recovery of the patients on the incubative ventilator is the tough job.”

According to the officials from the health department, some of the distant districts, where the growth and fatality rates are high, the health services support is not upto the mark. “The late referral of patients to Covid facilities is the major reason why the number of critical patients is high. In rural and semi-urban areas, the unwillingness to report the symptoms is a major hurdle,” an official said, adding that the number of critical patients in Mumbai will always be high as patients from neighbouring districts are referred to the city for treatment.