<span style="color: #222222;">Maharashtra's active COVID-19 cases dipped below the two lakh-mark on Wednesday, with the State recording 19,517 recoveries, leading to a total recoveries of 13,16,769.<br />''<br />''The state has been witnessing a steady decline in the number of new Covid-19 cases for over a month now.<br />''<br />''On Monday, Maharashtra had reported its lowest spike in 90 days with 7,089 new infections.<br />''<br />''AIR correspondent reports, the number of active cases in Maharashtra has come below the two lakh mark to stand at 1,96,288.<br />''<br />''A little over three weeks ago, the active cases had risen alarmingly over the three lakh-mark.<br />''<br />''The cumulative recoveries have risen to 13,16,769, with the State's recovery rate rising to 84.71%.<br />''<br />''State Surveillance Officer Dr. Pradeep Awate said that of the total of 78,38,318 laboratory samples tested so far, 15,54,389 i.e. 19.83% have returned positive.<br />''<br />''He added that the State's case fatality rate stood at 2.63% while a month ago on Sept 14 the state's fatality rate was 2.77 %.<br />''<br />''Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray today said that the decision to re-open cinema halls in the state will be taken once the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) is finalised.</span><br />