PUNE: Covid has resurfaced in Maharashtra and the city recorded a significant increase in case count, mostly mild, over the past 10 days though there is no indication of a fresh wave.The state health department data showed Maharashtra recorded 48 Covid-19 cases so far this year, with no death. Cases gradually increased through 2026, after remaining largely under the radar for nearly three years. Three Covid cases were reported in Jan, one in Feb, 11 in June and 21 in July, so far.Officials said most positive cases were detected during physician-advised investigations or pre-operative fitness assessments rather than routine Covid testing.Experts said the virus had now settled into a pattern similar to influenza. Periodic spikes were expected as immunity waned and new variants emerged, they said.
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Doctors said the recent uptick was the first noticeable increase in Covid cases since around 2023. Dr Piyush Chaudhary, infectious diseases specialist at Jehangir Hospital, said both Covid and influenza cases increased over the last eight to 10 days.“We’ve seen at least seven to eight Covid cases at our hospital alone during this period. If one centre is getting these numbers, there are likely to be several more cases across the city,” he said.Dr Chaudhary said the illness was largely milder than even the Omicron variant. Patients are typically reporting cough, cold, sore throat and fatigue, lasting three to five days.Many of those testing positive were hospitalised for unrelated medical conditions or were screened before procedures rather than because of severe Covid symptoms.“The actual number of infections in the community is likely to be several times higher because many people with mild cold and cough never get tested. Covid is here to stay, much like influenza. These viruses mutate over time, leading to fresh spurts every one or two years as population immunity declines. People should not let their guard down,” Dr Chaudhary said.Dr Sujata Rege, consultant in infectious diseases at Symbiosis University Hospital and Jupiter Hospital, said Covid occurred sporadically over the past few years but did not attract much attention because the testing had reduced.She explained that hospitals frequently used lower respiratory multiplex panels, which do not include Covid, while upper respiratory panels do.Respiratory multiplex panels are advanced molecular diagnostic tests, such as multiplex PCR, that simultaneously detect numerous viral and bacterial pathogens from a single patient sample.Dr Rege said, “Previously, we would see only an odd Covid case here and there. Now, with more viral respiratory infections circulating, Covid is showing up again because the upper respiratory viral panels are being used more often.”She stressed that the current situation did not resemble a Covid wave.“It’s another respiratory virus that waxes and wanes. We’re still seeing sporadic infections rather than every patient testing positive,” she said, adding that hospitals were simultaneously getting increased cases of influenza, dengue, chikungunya and typhoid.Consultant pulmonologist Dr Shraddha Kulkarni of Jupiter Hospital also saw a few Covid-positive patients in the past few days after hardly encountering any for a long time.“These patients with underlying respiratory illnesses developed fever and tested positive when we screened them for respiratory viruses. So far, all cases have been mild, but we need to closely monitor the trend over the next few weeks,” she said.
