(G.N.S) Dt. 14
Ahmedabad/Gandhinagar
Gujarat has the second highest number of coronavirus disease cases in the country after Maharastra. According to Union health ministry update on Thursday, the number of cases in the state is 9,267.
More than 500 (566 to be exact) people have died due to the disease in the state and the number of cured/discharged patients is 3,562, according to the health ministry.
Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has announced formation of a committee of experts, headed by former Union Finance Secretary Dr Hasmukh Adhia, to deal with the Covid-19 situation in the state.
The committee will be providing comprehensive recommendations to the Gujarat government for post-Covid-19 economic revival in the state, as per the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO).
Three hundred sixty four new cases of Covid-19 were reported in Gujarat on Wednesday. Twenty four people died of the disease on Wednesday.
Among the 16 districts where new cases were found, Ahmedabad reported 292, Surat 23 and Vadodara 18. The tally of coronavirus cases in Ahmedabad rose to 6,645.
In Surat and Vadodara, it rose to 967 and 592, respectively.
The number of Covid-19-related deaths in Ahmedabad thus rose to 446, and that in Surat to 43.
As many as 1,22,297 samples weretested in the state till Wednesday, 2,760 in the last 24 hours, state health authorities said.
Amreli district recorded its first coronavirus case on Wednesday. The pandemic, thus, has now spread to all 33 districts of Gujarat.
Apart from Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Surat, the districts with high number of cases in Gujarat are Gandhinagar (142), Bhavnagar (100), Banaskantha (82), Anand (80), Aravalli (76), Mehsana (67), Rajkot (66), Botad (56).
10 out of the 48 wards in Ahmedabad have been categorised into containment zones
Additional Chief Secretary Forests and Environment Dr Rajiv Kumar Gupta, who is overseeing Ahmedabad, said on Wednesday that the wholesale markets will continue to remain closed.
However, in order to ensure that residents get essential commodities, retail shops selling fruits and vegetables, grocery stores and flour mills in these areas will remain open between 8 am and 1 pm.
The areas that have been put under containment zones are in the walled city and eastern part of Ahmedabad.
Home deliveries will be banned in these areas. In other areas, digital payments have been made compulsory for home deliveries.
Ahmedabad continues to remain a concern for the authorities with 25 out of the 29 deaths reported in Gujarat in the last 24 hours as of 5 pm on Wednesday were from the city. With this, death toll in the state has gone up to 566.
A total of 364 new cases were reported in Gujarat on Wednesday, and with this, the total number of COVID-19 positive patients in the state has gone up to 9,268. With 316 patients being discharged on Wednesday, the total number of patients, who have recovered and have been discharged in the state, has gone up to 3,562.
Principal Secretary Jayanti Ravi said that the recovery rate in the state is 38.42 per cent.
