Published on April 3, 2020
AHMEDABAD: Gujarat on Friday morning announced seven new positive cases in 12 hours, all reported from Ahmedabad, taking the total number of Covid-19 positive cases in the state to 95.
A patient from Panchmahal, who was under treatment at a hospital in Vadodara, also succumbed to the infection. Now, Gujarat has 8 deaths due to Covid-19, said state health & family welfare department officials.
Jayanti Ravi, principal secretary (health & family welfare), told media that the 78-year-old man who succumbed to Covid-19 infection was from Godhra. “He had co-morbidity including hypertension and lung disease,” she said.
Ravi said that out of total seven cases, a 68-year-old man had travel history to Delhi. “All other cases are of local transmission. The cases include a seven-year-old girl and a 17-year-old teen,” she said.
Ahmedabad municipal corporation (AMC) officials said that out of seven cases, five are from Kalupur area of the city whereas two are from Bapunagar.
With the new cases, the district-wise break-up of positive cases is –- 38 in Ahmedabad, 12 in Surat, 11 in Gandhinagar, 10 in Rajkot, 9 in Vadodara, 7 in Bhavnagar, 3 in Porbandar, 2 in Gir-Somnath, 1 in Kutch, 1 in Mehsana and 1 in Panchmahal. Out of eight, three deaths have been reported from Ahmedabad, two from Bhavnagar and one each from Surat, Vadodara and Panchmahal.
Talking about the hotspots in cities like Ahmedabad, Ravi said that a cluster containment strategy is already in place as they would employ rapid result kits and randomized sampling in association with local administration. Ahmedabad district accounts for 40% of the total Covid-19 positive cases in Gujarat.
As on Friday morning, Gujarat has processed 1,944 samples out of which 95 are positive, 1,847 negative and result for two is pending. The state health department officials said that 16,015 persons are still under 14-day mandatory quarantine due to their travel history or contact with persons having Covid-19 positive history. On government helpline 1,100 for mental and physical health issues for persons under quarantine, 742 calls have been received cumulatively, said health department officials.
The principal secretary said that Gujarat has received 41 new ventilators for All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), Rajkot. “The central government has allowed the state government to utilize the ventilators for special Covid-19 hospitals on need basis,” she said.
Ravi said that now the norms for wearing protective masks has changed due to rapid expansion of cases of cluster spread. “Earlier, it was advised that the healthy persons need not wear a mask. But the new central directive advises all to wear a mask, even when it’s just made of a cotton cloth,” she said.
The state health officials said that they have made arrangements with the local organizations to ensure blood supply especially for the kids with thalassemia. About 332 units of blood have been provided to 288 kids so far, they added.
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