Pune Records Rise in Covid Cases Over 10 Days, Officials Say No Cause For Alarm Yet
Pune, 18th July 2026: After nearly three years of remaining largely dormant, Covid-19 has resurfaced in Maharashtra, with Pune recording a noticeable rise in cases over the past 10 days. Health officials, however, said there is no indication of a fresh wave, as most infections are mild.
According to the state health department, Maharashtra has reported 48 Covid-19 cases so far this year, with no fatalities. The virus, which had remained largely under control for the past three years, has shown a gradual increase in 2026. The state recorded three cases in January, one in February, 11 in June and 21 so far in July.
Officials said most of the recent cases were detected incidentally rather than through routine Covid testing. Patients tested positive while undergoing investigations for other illnesses or during mandatory pre-operative screening before surgery.
Doctors said the virus is now behaving more like seasonal influenza, with sporadic infections expected as immunity wanes and new variants emerge. “Such periodic spikes every one or two years are not unusual and do not necessarily signal a Covid wave,” a health official said.
Experts stressed that the current situation is unlike previous Covid surges. They attributed the increase in detected cases to wider use of respiratory virus testing panels in hospitals amid a rise in seasonal respiratory infections, which is leading to more Covid infections being identified.
Meanwhile, neighbouring Andhra Pradesh has reported 12 Covid-19 cases between June 26 and July 16, along with four deaths, according to state health authorities. Health Secretary M.T. Krishnababu Veerapandian said all four deceased patients had serious underlying illnesses and had also tested positive for Covid-19. Three of the deaths were reported from Kadapa district and one from Kakinada.
Andhra Pradesh reported its first Covid-19 case of the year on June 26 in Kadapa. Between July 1 and July 16, 11 more cases were confirmed, including eight in Kadapa, two in Guntur and one each in Visakhapatnam and Kakinada. Swab samples from five patients were sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune for further analysis.
