NE NEWS SERVICE
GANDHINAGAR, MAY 6
Even as the main Opposition Congress blamed the ‘Namaste Trump” event held in February for the spread of pandemic in Ahmedabad, a team of three senior doctors from Mumbai and Delhi, including AIIMS director Dr Randeep Guleria, is likely to visit Ahmedabad, which has recorded a higher COVID-19 death rate, the Gujarat government said on Wednesday.
A request for sending a team of highly-experienced medical experts has been made by Chief Minister Vijay Rupani to Union Home Minister Amit Shah in a letter, an official release said.
At 6.1 percent, the COVID-19 death rate in Ahmedabad is almost double than the national average of around 3.3 percent, according to officials.
Ahmedabad has so far recorded 4,425 COVID-19 cases and 273 deaths.
“The top doctors of India will guide civil hospital staff in Ahmedabad for better treatment of critical patients and boost the morale of the team,” the release said.
Apart from Dr Guleria, Dr Rajesh Chawla of New Delhi Apollo Hospital in Delhi and noted pulmonologist Dr Rohit Pandit from Mumbai, are likely to be the part of the team, officials said.
The government has not announced the exact date of the visit by the doctors.
The growing number of deaths in the biggest city of Gujarat has set alarm bells ringing among government authorities and medical experts.
In the last four days, more than 100 people have succumbed to COVID-19 in the city.
On Tuesday alone, the city reported 39 deaths. The figure of fatalities rose at 26 on Monday from 23 on Sunday and 20 on Saturday.
Earlier, some health experts had attributed the higher death rate to the ”L strain” or ”Wuhan strain” of the coronavirus.
However, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) later clarified that all strains of the virus can cause a high number of deaths.
On Wednesday, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan expressed concern over the high fatality rate among COVID-19 patients in some districts of Maharashtra and Gujarat and asked the states to focus on early surveillance, aggressive contact tracing, and early diagnosis to reduce the number of fatalities.
Vardhan held a high-level meeting with Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister and Health Minister Nitinbhai Patel and Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope.
In the meeting, Vardhan stressed the need for proper interventions like screening and testing of severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) and Influenza-Like Illness (ILI) cases as this may prevent the spread of infection in other areas.
Ahmedabad Municipal Commissioner Vijay Nehra, currently in home quarantine, had last week said that the high incidence of death can be attributed to late admissions in hospitals.
“If people report about the symptoms in time more lives can be saved,” he had said.
The city civic body had last week launched a programme called ”Save Our Old Population”.
Those over 65 years of age should not venture out of their homes and stay protected, as many of those who died of coronavirus in the city were senior citizens, Nehra had said.
Shops to remain closed in Ahmedabad for one week
To control the spread of coronavirus in Ahmedabad city, civic authorities on Wednesday ordered the closure of all the shops except those selling milk and medicines for a week.
As per the order signed by municipal commissioner Mukesh Kumar, the shops will remain closed from May 7 midnight till 6 am on May 15.
While milk outlets and medical stores can remain open, all other shops, including those selling fruits, vegetables and grocery items, will remain closed, the order said.
GPCC chief blames ‘Namaste Trump’ event for corona spread
The Gujarat Congress on Wednesday alleged that the ‘Namaste Trump’ event organised by the state BJP government in on February 24 here was responsible for the spread of coronavirus in the state.
State Congress president Amit Chavda said his party wants an independent probe through a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into this and will approach the Gujarat High Court soon against government’s “criminal negligence”.
However, the state BJP unit dismissed the allegation as baseless, saying the event was organised well before the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared COVID-19 as a pandemic, and the first coronavirus case in the state was reported nearly a month after the event.
On February 24, US President Donald Trump along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi took part in roadshow in Ahmedabad which was attended by thousands of people.
After the roadshow, the two leaders addressed a gathering of over one lakh people at the Motera cricket stadium, run by the Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA).
Gujarat reported its first coronavirus cases on March 20, when samples of a man from Rajkot and a woman from Surat tested positive for the disease.
Chavda in a video message said, “In January itself, WHO clearly said the coronavirus spreads from one person to another. It had asked all the countries to refrain from organising large gatherings. Despite such warning, ‘Namaste Trump’ was planned for political gains, and permission was also granted by the Gujarat government.”
He alleged that the coronavirus entered Gujarat and spread among people due to this mega event as thousands of foreigners came to Ahmedabad ahead of Trump’s visit.
“People were asked to stand shoulder to shoulder on the road to greet the leaders. Lakhs of people were brought to the stadium on buses. This triggered the spread of the virus. This event was not a mistake, but criminal negligence. The ‘Namaste Trump’ event was responsible for community transmission of the virus,” Chavda alleged.
“We will soon file a petition in the Gujarat High Court demanding a judicial inquiry in it through an SIT having field experts as its members. We will demand action against the government, GCA, and the ‘Trump Abhivadan Samiti’ (a committee formed to organise the event) through this petition,” he added.
However, Gujarat BJP spokesman Prashant Vala termed the allegations as “baseless”.
“Chavda needs to understand that before Trump visits any country, a US team conducts a thorough inspection of the areas well in advance to ensure there are no security and health-related risks, such as viral infection. Without such clearance, Trump never visits any country,” he said.
Moreover, coronavirus has not been declared a pandemic by WHO when the ‘Namaste Trump’ event took place, he said.
The event took place on February 24, and the WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11, he said.
“The first coronavirus cases in Gujarat were reported on March 20, almost a month after the event. Chavda is making baseless allegations for vote bank politics,” Vala said.
3.75 lakh migrant workers have left from state so far: Official
Nearly 3.75 lakh migrant workers have so far left from Gujarat for their native places in trains, buses, and other vehicles since the lockdown restrictions were eased last week, a senior official said on Wednesday.
Besides, 36,000 more migrant workers will leave for Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, and Jharkhand in 30 trains from Surat, Ahmedabad, Rajkot, and Vadodara, among other stations, in Gujarat by Wednesday night, the official said.
Till Tuesday, nearly 47,000 migrant workers left for their home states in 39 special trains, chief minister’s secretary Ashwani Kumar said in a video message.
“So far, as many as 3.75 lakh migrant workers have left for their home states from Gujarat in trains, buses, and other vehicles,” he said.
Thirty more trains — 18 for Uttar Pradesh, seven for Bihar, three for Odisha, and two for Jharkhand — each carrying nearly 1,200 workers will leave from Gujarat by Wednesday night, he said.
Kumar claimed that among other states, Gujarat made arrangements for the maximum number of trains for migrant workers.
“More trains will run in the coming days. The operation is likely to be completed in 10 to 15 days and will be extended further if required until the last labourer willing to return to his home state is sent,” he said.
The official appealed to migrants on behalf of Chief Minister Vijay Rupani to be patient and support the district administrations.
He also said that the state Cabinet in its meeting on Wednesday decided to make face masks compulsory even in areas falling under green and orange zones for COVID-19.
Gujarat tourism secretary Mamta Verma has been appointed to oversee the return of people to the state from abroad through special flights starting May 7, he added.
