NE NEWS SERVICE
AHMEDABAD, MAR 25
Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Thursday said although the coronavirus cases were on the rise in the state, the death rate in the fresh wave of infections is low.
Speaking to reporters, Rupani said the state government is working to bring the cases under control, but the numbers are expected to rise for another one week.
“The rate of infections is high in the entire country, including the state. However, there is no need to panic. Although the rate of infection is high, the number of deaths is less (in this wave),” the chief minister said.
The government is working with the three ”Ts” formula of testing, tracing and treatment, he said, adding that 70,000 tests were conducted on Wednesday.
“Our Sanjivani Raths, Dhanvantari Raths, 108 ambulance service and 104 fever helpline services are operating 24 hours to test and track patients. With respect to treatment, we have made arrangements, and around 70 per cent beds are vacant,” Rupani said.
Containment zones are being increased, as new cases are being detected, to isolate patients, he said.
“The number of cases in the four big cities of the state are high, we are working hard to break the chain of transmission,” the chief minister said.
Rupani further said the state had set a target of inoculating 3 lakh people per day and has managed to vaccinate up to 2.25 lakh people per day.
“We expect the number of cases to rise for one more week in this wave and stabilise afterwards,” he said.
As many as seven MLAs and several government employees of the state secretariat in Gandhinagar have tested positive for coronavirus.
“We will vaccinate all government employees as corona warriors, irrespective of their age,” he said.
When asked if the government plans to curtail the ongoing budget session, Rupani said, “We don’t have plans to cut-short the budget session, as the final approval of the budget and eight important bills are to be taken up in the next four days.
Gujarat had reported 1,790 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, the state’s highest single-day rise since the pandemic began. The state has so far recorded 2,92,169 cases and 4,466 casualties.
Earlier, the government has imposed night curfew from 9 pm onwards in Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat and Rajkot, and also shut schools, colleges and tuition classes in urban areas.
