AHMEDABAD, NOV 18
There is no need to panic even though coronavirus cases have risen in Ahmedabad city as 40 percent beds in COVID-19 hospitals are unoccupied, a senior Gujarat government official said on Wednesday.
After reviewing the situation at a meeting with civic officials, Additional Chief Secretary Rajiv Kumar Gupta also said that social media rumours about plans to impose another lockdown are baseless.
Gupta has been appointed as Officer On Special Duty by the state government to oversee the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s efforts to deal with the pandemic.
“Rumours about (fresh) lockdown are baseless. I appeal to people not to believe them. In Ahmedabad, we have allotted 7,279 beds at seven government and 76 private hospitals for COVID-19 patients.
“Of these, 2,848 beds, that is 40 percent, are still available,” Gupta said in a statement.
As many as 2,347 beds are available in government hospitals and 501 beds in private hospitals, he added.
On Tuesday, 218 new cases of coronavirus infection were found in the city.
The sudden spike was the result of people’s movement in the festival season, said Gupta.
Another reason for the increase was that people are not wearing masks and following social distancing, he said.
Around 500 coronavirus patients from other districts as well as neighbouring states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra are undergoing treatment in hospitals in Ahmedabad, said the release.
The AMC has set up 200 centres across the city where people can get tested free, it added.
Around 25,000 “corona warriors”, including doctors and para-medical staff, have been deployed for tackling the pandemic in the city, Gupta said.
