Mumbai, Jan 12 (IANS): Covid-19 cases in Maharashtra catapulted to a new peak of 46,000-plus while deaths and Omicron cases also jumped, with the states tally crossing a staggering 7 million-mark, health officials said here on Wednesday.

After recording the previous high of 44,388 Covid cases on January 9, the state's figures mounted to a new record 46,723 on Wednesday -- a spike of nearly 12,000 cases compared to Tuesday's count of 34,424.

Covid fatalities also shot up from 22 on Tuesday to 32 on Wednesday, with the mortality rate dropping marginally from 2.02 per cent to 2.01 per cent.

From the peak of 207 Omicron cases reported on Sunday, the state's single-day figures of the new variant came down to 86 on Wednesday, with Mumbai remaining at the top with an overall tally of 627.

While Omicron has spread extensively across several districts in the state, out of the 1,367 cases detected till date, 734 have recovered.

Mumbai accounts for the bulk of Omicron cases at 627, followed by 445 in Pune, 76 in Thane, 59 in Sangli, 51 in Nagpur, 19 in Raigad, 18 in Kolhapur, 13 in Satara, 11 in Osmanabad, 9 in Amravati, 6 each in Palghar and Buldhana, 5 in Akola, 3 each in Nanded, Aurangabad and Gondiya, 2 each in Ahmednagar, Gadchiroli, Latur, Nandurbar, Nashik and Solapur, and 1 in Jalna.

The health authorities are continuing intensive surveillance of passengers arriving at the three international airports - Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur - since December 1.

A total of 40,026 travellers have landed here from the ‘high risk' countries of which 484 have tested positive along with 556 from other countries, with all their reports sent for genomic sequencing to confirm if they are afflicted by Omicron.

Besides, another 4,259 positive samples from field surveys conducted since November 1 have been sent for genomic sequencing with the results of 77 awaited, the officials said.

Of the 46,723 new Covid-19 cases detected on Wednesday, Mumbai Metropolitan Region alone accounted for 30,107 infections, while Mumbai city remained at a high with 16,420 fresh cases.

The next is Pune Circle's 9,277 infectees, followed by Nashik Circle at 2,230, Nagpur Circle at 2,044, Kolhapur Circle at 1,056, Latur Circle at 1,006, Aurangabad Circle at 511 and Akola Circle at 492.

The number of people sent to home quarantine shot up - from 14,64,987 on Tuesday to 15,29,452 on Wednesday - while another 6,951 have been shunted to institutional quarantine.

Mumbai, Pune and Thane remain at the top with the highest number of active cases currently in the state, with the afflictions shooting up from 221,477 a day before to 240,122 now, while the state's recovery rate stood at 94.52 per cent.

The state's cumulative figures of Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic in March 2020 now stand at 70,34,661 cases and 141,701 deaths, while a total of 66,49,111 patients have fully recovered till date.