NE NEWS SERVICE
AHMEDABAD, MAY 23
The number of coronavirus cases in Gujarat rose to 13,669 after 396 new cases were reported on Saturday, while the death toll rose to 829 with 27 new deaths, the state health department said.
#coronapositive mothers combated the battle and discharged with their #newborns @Civilhospamd ❤️ https://t.co/2wsskhnO9h
— Pankaj Kumar (@pkumarias) May 23, 2020
Nine districts reported fresh cases on Saturday, with Ahmedabad reporting 277 cases. The total number of COVID-19 cases in Ahmedabad district increased to 10,001.
લોકડાઉન ખુલી રહ્યુ છે પણ યુદ્ધ ચાલુ છે નીચે મુજબ ના લોકોએ બહાર ન નીકળવા નમ્ર વિનંતી છે
STAY HOME , STAY SAFE #HuPanCoronaWorriurs @pkumarias @CMOGuj @InfoGujarat pic.twitter.com/JaQEg2RxiI— Collector-Mahisagar (@collectormahi) May 23, 2020
Vadodara and Surat reported 35 and 29 new cases, respectively, taking the total number of cases in these two districts to 806 and 1,285, respectively.
Out of 27 deaths, 24 were reported from Ahmedabad hospitals and three from Surat.
સ્ટર્લિંગ કૅન્સર હૉસ્પિટલ એ અમદાવાદ મ્યુનિસિપલ કોર્પોરેશન દ્વારા કોવિડ-૧૯ ના દર્દીઓ માટે નિયુક્ત કરેલ હૉસ્પિટલ છે અને કોરોના મહામારીના આ સમયમાં હૉસ્પિટલ તરફથી તેના ૧૦૦% ઓપરેશનલ બેડસ્ અમદાવાદ મ્યુનિસિપલ કોર્પોરેશન તરફથી મોકલેલા ગરીબ અને જરૂરિયાતમંદ દર્દીઓ માટે આરક્ષિત છે. pic.twitter.com/h8Byml2Iw0
— Amdavad Municipal Corporation (@AmdavadAMC) May 23, 2020
The death toll of coronavirus patients in Ahmedabad has risen to 669, while in Surat it has risen to 60, the second-highest in Gujarat.
As many as 289 patients were discharged from state hospitals on Saturday, taking the total number of recovered patients to 6,169.
The state has 6,671 active patients, 73 of them on ventilators.
Industrial, commercial and other economic activities coming back on track with easing of lockdown restrictions by the Gujarat Govt in the state. pic.twitter.com/EItiZoOhM8
— CMO Gujarat (@CMOGuj) May 23, 2020
4,71,003 people are in-home quarantine, 10,732 in government facilities, and 6,999 in private facilities.
Districts other than Ahmedabad, Surat, and Vadodara which have reported a high number of cases are Gandhinagar (210), Bhavnagar (114), Banaskantha (99), Anand (90), Rajkot (87), Aravalli (98), Mehsana (99).
Gujarat COVID-19 figures: Positive cases: 13,669, new cases: 396, deaths: 829, discharged: 6,169, active cases: 6,671; people tested so far: 1,78,068.
Corona cases cross 10,000-mark in Ahmedabad, 24 deaths
Coronavirus cases in Ahmedabad district crossed 10,000-mark and rose to 10,001 after 277 new cases were reported on Saturday, the state health department said.
As many as 24 COVID-19 patients died in Ahmedabad hospitals during the day, taking the total death toll in the district to 669.
Amazing and inspirational! https://t.co/iw6iuvptkM
— Arun Mahesh Babu (@ArunMaheshIAS) May 23, 2020
Also, 206 patients were discharged on Saturday, taking the number of recovered patients in the district to 3,864.
There are 5,468 active cases here, the health department said.
Of new cases, all but five were reported from Ahmedabad city, with the civic body claiming that the number of samples taken for COVID-19 tests per week under active surveillance strategy has “significantly increased during the last two weeks compared to the previous four weeks”.
Fighting against spread of COVID-19 with immediate action#COVID19 #AhmedabadFightsCorona #HuPanCoronaWarrior pic.twitter.com/hYYVMLzZ1D
— Arun Mahesh Babu (@ArunMaheshIAS) May 23, 2020
Five new cases were reported from outside the city limits, taking the total number of cases in the rural region of the district to 155.
Tests per million in Ahmedabad city now stand at 9,492 as of May 23, compared to 5,344 on May 5, showing a rise of 77 per cent, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation said.
હોમ બેઝડ કોવિડ કેર- દર્દીઓ માટેની માર્ગદર્શીકાhttps://t.co/PFSCxxtb0n
— VMC VADODARA (@VMCVadodara) May 23, 2020
In the week ending May 21, 11,320 samples were tested as against 9,410 samples in the previous week, and 7,500 in the week before, it said.
Cong leader seeks judicial probe into use of Dhaman-1 ventilators in Gujarat, says not certified by DCGI
The Congress on Saturday demanded a judicial probe into the use of a ventilator on COVID-19 patients in Gujarat that, it said, has not been approved by the DCGI, alleging the mortality rate was highest at the hospital these machines were installed.
Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said almost six weeks after Dhaman-1 ventilators were installed at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital on April 4, doctors there sought more ventilators claiming these machines did not work on patients and were not capable.
The Dhaman-1 ventilator has been developed by Rajkot-based firm Jyoti CNC which “donated” 866 of them to the state government last month in view of acute shortage of the machines, according to senior Gujarat government official.
A row erupted when the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital wrote to the government, stating that the ventilators were not up to the mark, and sought sophisticated machines.
The senior official, however, sought to put the controversy to rest, saying Dhaman-1 was “as good as other such machines” and was certified by a Centrally accredited laboratory.
On Saturday, Khera alleged the Vijay Rupani government projected the mechanised AMBU (Artificial Manual Breathing Unit) bag as ventilator, “playing with the lives of patients”.
“Why was Dhaman-1 approved and installed when it had been tested on just one patient? Why was Dhaman-1 approved and installed without a licence by DCGI (Drug Controller General of India),” he asked.
“We also want to know if the PM Cares Fund was used to buy 5,000 pieces of Dhaman-1 through HLL Lifecare. All these answers can only be found through an independent judicial inquiry,” Khera said.
Training his guns on Chief Minister Rupani, he asked why Gujarat had “such shocking data” on COVID-19 patients as 11 per cent of the total coronavirus cases in the country were in the state, but 22 per cent of the deaths related to COVID-19 in the country were from Gujarat.
“Why this high mortality, Why the high mortality in Ahmedabad in particular and in Ahmedabad, why the highest mortality is in the civil hospital, where these machines were installed,” he asked.
“Whatever be your compulsions, Mr Rupani, we understand there are compulsions. But you cannot play with the lives of the people, just because you are in a position of power,” he alleged.
He alleged the machines were donated under CSR funds by a company in which a Surat-based businessman, who donated the monogrammed suit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi which was worn by him during former US President Barack Obama”s visit to India, has a stake.
He asked why Dhaman-1 was marketed within and outside the state as a “ventilator when it is not a ventilator”.
The Congress leader asked why was Dhaman-1 allowed to be sold to other states and why was HLL Lifecare, a PSU, allowed to order 5,000 pieces.
