NE NEWS SERVICE
GANDHINAGAR, APRIL 11
અગ્ર સચિવ, @JayantiRavi દ્વારા, રાજ્ય ના કોરોના દર્દીઓના કેસ વિષે આવેલ આજ દિન સુધીની માહિતી. જોવો વિડિઓ.https://t.co/nLsC6SvAkH
— Ministry of Health (@MoHFW_GUJARAT) April 11, 2020
With three more deaths, the number of coronavirus positive patients who have succumbed to the infection in Gujarat rose to 22 on Saturday. Total number of coronavirus cases in Gujarat rose to 468 on Saturday with 90 new patients being detected, a health department official said.
The deceased was in the age group of 65-70 years, he said.
#COVID2019 અંતર્ગત જિલ્લામા કુલ – ૩૩ લોકોના સેમ્પલ લેવામા આવેલ. જે તમામ ૩૩ લોકોના રીપોર્ટ "નેગેટીવ" આવતા તે તમામને આઇસોલેશનમાંથી ડિસ્ચાર્જ આપવામા આવેલ છે.જિલ્લામા આજ દિન સુધી કોરોના વાયરસ અંગેનો એક પણ પોઝીટીવ કેસ નોંધાયેલ નથી છતા પણ જરૂરી સતર્કતા રાખવા તમામ નાગરિકોને અનુરોધ છે.
— Collector & DM Banaskantha (@CollectorBK) April 11, 2020
While two of them died at the civil hospital in Ahmedabad, another at SPV Hospital, said Principal Secretary (Health), Jayanti Ravi.
One of the deceased was suffering from diabetes, Ravi said.
નોવેલ કોરોના વાઈરસ અન્વયે મુખ્ય જિલ્લા આરોગ્ય અધિકારીશ્રી તથા IMA ડોકટર્સ સાથે માન. મુખ્ય સચિવશ્રીની અધ્યક્ષતામાં યોજાયેલ વિડીયો કોન્ફરન્સમાં હાજરી આપી.@pkumarias @MoHFW_GUJARAT @PS_HFWD_GUJ @JpShivahare pic.twitter.com/QteATKrEyh
— Collector Jamnagar (@CollectorJamngr) April 11, 2020
The total number of COVID-19 deaths in Ahmedabad now stands at 10.
Total number of coronavirus cases in Gujarat rose to 468 on Saturday with 90 new patients being detected, a health department official said.
While 54 cases came to light in the morning, another 36 were found in the evening, said Principal Secretary (Health) Jayanti Ravi.
#IndiaFightsCOVID19
Cyber Security tips for #WorkFromHome during #Lockdown to fight #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/XWwj6Y9Rqj— Gujarat Information (@InfoGujarat) April 11, 2020
Of 398 active cases, four patients are on a ventilator, she said. Since Friday evening 2,045 people were tested for the virus and the number of people tested in the state so far has reached 9,763, Ravi added.
As many as 31 new cases were reported from Ahmedabad, 18 from Vadodara, three from Anand, and one each from Surat and Bhavnagar districts, Principal Secretary (Health) Jayanti Ravi said
"કોરોના" સામેના જંગમાં સેવાભાવી સંસ્થાઓ પણ પ્રશાસનની સાથે :
–
વહીવટી તંત્રને અર્પણ કરાયેલ સેનિટાઝનિંગ કોરિડોર વ્યારાની જનક સ્મારક હોસ્પિટલ ખાતે કાર્યરત કરાયો : pic.twitter.com/uspaDRWZ43— Info Tapi GoG (@InfoTapiGoG) April 11, 2020
Of the total, 379 are active cases. The condition of 376 of them is stable, while three others are critical and put on ventilator support, she said.
After a 53-year-old man from Gandhinagar was discharged from hospital on Saturday, the number of persons who have returned home after recovery has gone up to 34.
બોટાદ નગરપાલિકાએ વિવિધ વિસ્તારોમાં
સેનીટાઈઝેશનની કામગીરી હાથ ધરી
***************** pic.twitter.com/mvKGZ34c54— Info Botad GoG (@mahitibotad) April 11, 2020
So far, 19 people have died in the state due to the infection.
In the last 24 hours, 1,593 samples were tested, she said, out of which, 1,187 tested negative, while 124 others were positive. The test results of 282 others are still pending.
A total 8,331 samples have been tested in the state so far, she added.
Ravi said that the number of COVID-19 patients has risen sharply in the last few days.
“But there is no reason to panic. We had deliberately decided 4-5 days ago at a high-powered meeting that we will conduct intensive testing in hotspot areas where cases are likely to be found in large numbers. We will find each and every case in such areas so as to control the spread of the virus, she said.
દેવભૂમિ દ્વારકા જિલ્લાના APL-1 અને NON NFSA કાર્ડ ધારકોને તા.૧૩ એપ્રિલથી તા.૧૭ એપ્રિલ સુધી વિનામૂલ્યે અનાજવિતરણકરાશે. જિલ્લા કલેકટરશ્રી ડો.નરેન્દ્રકુમાર મીના દ્વારા ૧૩મી એપ્રિલથી શરૂ થનારી કામગીરી અંગે અપાઈ માહિતી. pic.twitter.com/JTMXc4KkHq
— Info Devbhumidwarka GOG (@info_dbd) April 11, 2020
“It has now been decided at the meeting chaired by Chief Minister Vijay Rupani that the health department will proactively collect and test samples in areas of districts where no positive cases have been found,” she said.
“We will test 100 samples in every district where no coronavirus positive case has emerged so far,” the officer said.
The state has conducted 132 tests per million population, she said.
District-wise, Ahmedabad has reported the highest number of cases at 228, followed by Vadodara at 77, Surat 28, Bhavnagar 23, Rajkot 8, Gandhinagar and Patan at 14 each, Bharuch 7, Anand 5, Kutch 4, Porbandar 3, Mehsana, Gir Somnath, and Chhota Udepur two each, and Dahod, Morbi, Panchmahal, Jamnagar, and Sabarkantha one each.
Sanitising tunnel set up at Sabarmati Central Jail#StayHome pic.twitter.com/3gdDsHmKIL
— Gujarat Information (@InfoGujarat) April 11, 2020
Lakhs of cases if lockdown not followed strictly: AMC chief
There could be “thousands and lakhs” of coronavirus cases in Ahmedabad in Gujarat if people do not follow lockdown norms strictly, said a senior civic official on Saturday, adding that “venturing out now is dangerous”.
Health checkup organized at Shinor Seva Sadan for the Staff and FPS shopkeepers.
Grateful to each one of them for their dedication to duty, in these difficult times. Stay safe everyone! #COVID__19 #HelpUsToHelpYou #IndiaFightsCorona @pkumarias @CollectorVad @ourvadodara pic.twitter.com/p5X3oqabA1— Maitridevi Sisodia (@MaitriSisodia) April 11, 2020
In Ahmedabad, COVID-19 numbers have spiked tremendously over the past four days, rising from 83 on Wednesday to 228 on Saturday morning. Seven people have died of the infection so far.
“The possibilities are that thousands or lakhs of coronavirus cases can come up in the city if people do not follow lockdown properly. Cases have been found in almost all parts of the city. So venturing out of your home now is dangerous,” said Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation Commissioner Vijay Nehra.
“Areas where people have not followed lockdown properly have seen infection in large numbers. I request religious, political and social leaders to advise people to not venture out of their homes,” he said.
He said AMC has set up COVID care centres and health centres where positive but asymptomatic patients will be admitted.
They will be like hostels and will free up hospital beds for serious patients.
“As per WHO protocol and Central government guidelines and best practices around the world, asymptomatic positive patients will be shifted to our COVID Care Centres starting from today. We have already identified such centres,” he said.
“COVID Health Centres will have oxygen facilities for those patients who have problems in breathing, Ambulances will kept on stand by and if an infected person develops symptoms then he will be transferred to hospital,” he said.
Nehra said around 30 patients in the city are such that they can be shifted to COVID Care Centers.
Nehra said 14 areas in the city have been identified as cluster containment zones, and total lockdown has been imposed.
Most of these areas are in the minority-dominated Old City.
Police drones keep hawk’s eye on people during lockdown
From busting secret terrace parties to catching youths playing volleyball, the camera- mounted unmanned aerial vehicles, commonly known as drones, are helping the Gujarat Police in enforcing the coronavirus lockdown in an effective manner.
The police have deployed around 200 drones across the state to keep a watch on people’s movement during the lockdown, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Gandhinagar, G G Jasani, said.
Using these drones, which can record videos while hovering above, over 7,000 people have been arrested across the state after they were found loitering outside instead of staying indoors. They were arrested under section 188 of the IPC for defying the police notification, officials said.
“Ahmedabad Rural police also uses drones to maintain social distancing and enforce total lockdown. On an average, 10 to 12 persons are arrested every day after they are spotted by drones,”
Deputy Superintendent of Police, Ahmedabad district, S H Sarda, said.
“Drones give us a bird’s eye view of a particular area. We use them to make sure that social distancing is maintained in public as well as private areas. Recently, a drone camera captured faces of four persons who had assembled at a public place unnecessarily. Though they drove off after spotting our drone, we caught them later as their faces had been captured,” he said.
“Some places are difficult to monitor in routine patrolling on vehicles. Taking advantage, some youths in Bavla town had started playing volleyball in a ground located between buildings and walls. However, we were able to nab 11 of them after their act was caught in our drone camera,” the officer added.
In Surat city, police had recently busted a ‘pakoda party’ on the terrace of a residential building in Sarthana area using a drone.
“To dodge the police, people have started gathering on terraces. Luckily, we have drones to keep a check on such violators. Recently, we arrested six persons who had gathered on a terrace and enjoying pakodas, which were being fried on the terrace itself. We can now keep an eye on terraces while being on the ground,”Deputy Commissioner of Police, Prashant Sumbe, said.
Recently, three men were caught playing cards while sitting in a corner of their society, a place that was not visible from internal road, he said, adding, We had also caught people playing cricket inside residential societies using drones.
‘Drones are also proving effective in creating fear among people, as they have now realised that they are no longer assemble and hide on their terraces or in remote corners of their localities,’ he added.
Several videos of people running away frantically after spotting police drones have also gone viral on social media platforms.
In Ahmedabad city too, drones have helped police in catching people playing carrom and cards on their terraces with family, friends and neighbours.
Govt ‘delaying’ payment of cash benefit to construction workers
A Gujarat-based unorganized workers’ association has revealed that the state government has still not released Rs 1,000, to be paid cash to the nearly 65 lakh workers who had been working the unorganized sector, even though an announcement for this was made by chief minister Vijay Rupani on March 26, 2020, one day after India-wide lockdown was announced.
Vipul Pandya, director, Bandhkam Majur Sangathan (BMS), who wrote a letter to the state labour secretary, said, the delay in payment, meant as relief to the unorganized sector workers after they were thrown out of job following the lockdown, has been caused because of the state government claims it does not have the list of persons to whom the amount should be paid.
“The state labour department has asked all districts to prepare a list of beneficiaries for the entitlement, which is strange, considering that several lakh unorganized workers in Kerala, Punjab, Rajasthan, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, where a similar announcements were made, have already begun the process of paying cash”, Pandya told Counterview.
In Delhi, Kerala, Rajasthan and Punjab the cash amount is Rs 3,000, while in Uttar Pradesh it is Rs 1,000, and the amount is being distributed “without waiting for the preparation of a list with documents, considering the dire circumstances in which the unorganized sector workers have been pushed into”, Pandya asserted.
Disputing the Gujarat government claim that it does not have the list of those who should be paid the amount, said Pandya, “This is just not true. There are over 6.34 lakh construction workers registered with the Gujarat Building & Other Construction Labour Welfare Board.”
He added, “The state government has all the details, including their address, bank account, aadhaar number. Moreover, an amount of Rs 2,900 crore, collected as cess from the construction industry, is lying idle with the board. The process of paying the amount should begin with this section. Hence there is little reason for the delay.”
“Surprisingly”, Pandya said in the letter, “As per the information we have received, the board has instructed the district level project manager to prepare an updated database of beneficiary workers registered with the board at. Even a fortnight after the process began, there is no movement.”
The letter asks the government to make the payment to workers who were registered with the board over the last three years without any delay, following which an advertisement could be placed in electronic media, and publicized through the social media, asking those who have been left out to send their identity card and bank account details via WhatsApp to allow the government to make more payments.
Migrant workers go on rampage in Surat, 80 detained
Hundreds of migrant workers, mostly from Odisha, hit the streets in Surat and some torched handcarts and tyres in Laksana area on Friday night.
Police have detained around 80 migrant workers, mostly from Odisha, for allegedly going on a rampage and setting many handcarts afire in Surat demanding that they be allowed to return to their native places amid the lockdown, an official said on Saturday.
Hundreds of migrant workers stuck in Surat due the lockdown torched handcarts and tyres in Laksana area of the city on Friday night.
After the incident, police personnel were deployed in large numbers in the area and the situation was brought under control, the official said.
“Hundreds of workers, mostly from Odisha, hit the streets demanding that they should be sent to their native places. They also claimed that the food served to them by an NGO is tasteless and they have to stand in queue to get the meal,” ACP CK Patel said.
“Out of anger, they torched some handcarts and tyres in Laskana area. We have detained 80 migrant workers. Heavy police deployment and strict vigil by the administration has brought the situation under control,” he said.
On March 30, over 90 migrant labourers were arrested in Surat city for defying the nationwide lockdown and attacking police over a similar issue.
Just hours before they went berserk, in Juhapura–one of India’s largest Muslim ghetto in Ahmedabad–people pelted stones on police when they were trying to enforce lockdown. Two policemen were injured. Stray incidents were reported from other parts of the city as well.
Government allows fishing, allied activities from Saturday
From Saturday, fishermen can go out in the Arabian Sea, said Ashwani Kumar, secretary to the chief minister.
Amid the lockdown for the novel coronavirus outbreak, the Gujarat government on Saturday allowed fishing and allied activities of processing, packaging, maintenance of cold chains and transportation, in the process bringing relief to those employed in the sector, a senior official said.
From Saturday, fishermen can go out in the Arabian Sea, said Ashwani Kumar, secretary to the chief minister. “Related activities of processing, packaging, maintenanceof cold chains, and transportation of fish and prawns have also been allowed from today,” he said.
“The state government has also decided to extend the benefit of Rs 1000 ex-gratia payment to widow pensioners, that is Rs 500 each in the months of April and May, as relief during the lockdown to non-BPL beneficiaries,” he added.
The Gujarat government will pay Rs 35 crore to around 3.46 lakh such beneficiaries, and the Centre will contribute Rs 9.74 crore to give Rs Rs 1000 each to 97,474 widows from the BPL category, Kumar said.
Kumar also informed that seven people were arrested under the Prevention of Black Marketing Act for diverting food grains meant for distribution among the poor in Prantij in Sabarkantha district. He said around 3.10 lakh passes have been issued for movement of essential commodities.
