Mumbai, April 20 (IANS) Maharashtra registered nine deaths and 466 new Covid-19 cases, including two staffers of the BMC Disaster Control, officials said here on Monday.

The two infected staffers and others have been isolated in the BMC premises itself and the entire building was sanitised as a precaution.

Incidentally, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had visited the BMC Disaster Control room on April 1, followed by Health Minister Rajesh Tope a few days later.

Also at least 53 media persons in the city working for various electronic media have tested positive and have been quarantined in a private hotel in Goregaon suburb.

Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar has gone into self-isolation since she had reportedly come in contact with some of them recently, though officials declined to comment on the issue.

Tope reiterated his appeal to the people not to suppress any Covid-19 related symptoms and to voluntarily come forth for tests.

Mumbai also witnessed three major fishing areas - Worli Koliwada, Mahim Fishermen Colony and Versova Fishermen Village - going under lockdown after over a dozen positive cases were reported there. While Worli Koliwada has been in quarantine for over a week, the other two have been isolated since Sunday.

With the latest deaths, the total fatalities in the state shot up from 223 to 232, and the number of positive cases surpassed 4,200 to touch 4,666.

Among the deaths, 7 were recorded in Mumbai and two from Malegaon in Nashik district. For the second consecutive day, Pune - another worst-hit Covid-19 hub, did not report any deaths.

Among the fatalities on Monday, there were 3 women and 6 men, and a majority had other serious ailments like diabetes, hypertension, heart problems, asthma, etc.

Monday's jump in new positive cases is the second highest after the previous high of 552 notched on Sunday, creating concerns in different quarters.

As per the Health Department bulletin, of the new cases, Mumbai alone accounted for 308 over Sunday's figures, though the BMC has stated 155 new cases.

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region continued to cause worries with 155 Covid-19 deaths and 3,608 positive cases till date.

Pune Division follows at a distant second slot with 55 dead and 697 patients.

The next is Nashik Division with 12 deaths and 129 positive cases, followed by Nagpur Division with one dead and 73 patients.

On the positive side, 65 fully cured patients returned home today, taking the number of those discharged to 572 till date.

The number of people in home quarantine shot up from 87,254 to touch 93,655, and those in institutional quarantine increased from 6,743 to 6,879 on Monday, and the state currently has 364 containment zones.

--IANS qn/vd