COVID-19 situation in Thane, nearby areas alarming: Fadnavis

He was speaking to reporters after a three-day tour of the region during which he visited Thane, Navi Mumbai, Kalyan Dombivali, Mira Bhayander, Ulhasnagar and Panvel. "Testing must be increased and reports must come within a day so that timely treatment can begin.

The COVID-19 situation in Thane and adjoining areas in Mumbai Metropolitan Region is alarming and coordination among government agencies will have to be improved and testing numbers increased to get on top of the crisis, senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis said on Monday. He was speaking to reporters after a three-day tour of the region during which he visited Thane, Navi Mumbai, Kalyan Dombivali, Mira Bhayander, Ulhasnagar and Panvel.

"Testing must be increased and reports must come within a day so that timely treatment can begin. The situation in MMR is alarming. I will submit a report of my observations during this tour to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray," he said. Fadnavis also said he had received two complaints from kin of COVID-19 patients going missing in Thane and demanded that the state government implement a geo-tagging mechanism for those admitted in hospitals.

"In addition to geo-tagging, technology including video link can be deployed to allow kin of patients to be in touch," Fadnavis told reporters. As on Monday, Thane district has 42,420 COVID-19 cases, including 1,268 deaths.

Thane city has reported 10,731 coronavirus cases, Kalyan Dombivali-9,086, Navi Mumbai-7,793 Mira Bhayandar- 4,314, Ulhasnagar-2,810, Bhiwandi Nizampur-2,319, Ambernath- 2,200, Badlapur-973, and Thane rural-2,194..