NE NEWS SERVICE
GANDHINAGAR, MAY 31
Gujarat on Sunday reported 438 new coronavirus cases and 31 deaths, including 20 in worst-hit Ahmedabad, taking the total case count to 16,794 and the number of fatalities to 1,038, a Health official said.
A total of 689 patients were discharged from hospitals, taking the total number of the recovered patients to 9,919, the official said.
The number of active cases in the state now stands at 5,837 of which 61 patients are on ventilators.
Of the 31, 20 deaths were reported from Ahmedabad district, 3 from Panchmahal, two each from Porbandar and Surat, and one each from Amreli, Aravalli, Jamnagar, and Rajkot, the official said.
With 299 new cases and 20 deaths, Ahmedabad district now accounts for 12,180 of the total 16,794 cases in the state. The number of COVID-19 fatalities in Ahmedabad district stands at 842.
અમદાવાદ શહેરનાં માઈક્રો કન્ટેઈન્મેન્ટ વિસ્તારો અંગે લેવામાં આવેલ અગત્યનો નિર્ણય (અનલોક-1)#LifePositiveCoronaNegative#AmdavadAMC pic.twitter.com/vURrA8mOJH
— Amdavad Municipal Corporation (@AmdavadAMC) May 31, 2020
Surat and Vadodara reported 55 cases and 34 cases, respectively. The total number of cases in the Surat district now stands at 1,620 and in the Vadodara district at 1,043.
ભારત સરકાર દ્વારા લંબાવવામાં આવેલ દેશવ્યાપી લોકડાઉનમાં આપવામાં આવેલ છુટ-છાટો અંગે લેવામાં આવેલ અગત્યનાં નિર્ણયો (અનલોક-1)#LifePositiveCoronaNegative#AmdavadAMC pic.twitter.com/63NgGe2fIb
— Amdavad Municipal Corporation (@AmdavadAMC) May 31, 2020
“Of the 689 patients discharged Sunday, a majority of 601 was discharged from Ahmedabad, 30 from Surat and 18 from Vadodara, among others,” the official said.
Gujarat has so far tested 2,11,930 samples.
Gujarat COVID-19 figures are as follows: Positive cases 16,794, new cases 438, deaths 1,038, discharged 9,919, active cases 5,837 and people tested so far 2,11,930.
HC lets pvt labs conduct COVID-19 tests in some categories
The Gujarat High Court has allowed COVID-19 testing by private laboratories without the need for prior approval of government health officers for patients in certain categories based on the report of a three-member committee of the state government.
The compassionate staff of COVID-19 Hospital at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital goes extra mile to help patients battling the Corona virus connect with their loved ones back home. pic.twitter.com/KbgwxFt0e4
— CMO Gujarat (@CMOGuj) May 31, 2020
It said government approval should be provided within 24 hours for the rest of the patients.
The Ahmedabad Medical Association had in its plea prayed for HC’s direction to permit all private laboratories and hospitals, which have the requisite infrastructure, to conduct RTPCR tests for COVID-19, without any need for prior permission from the government as mandated by it.
“Those categories of patients, as referred to (in the report of the three member committee of the state government), in our opinion, would not be insisted for an approval from the concerned superintendent of the GMERS, Ahmedabad or the DHO for other districts but the COVID19 testing should be done forthwith without any delay and only intimation of such patients may be forwarded to the concerned authorities by the treating consultants,” said the division bench of Chief Justice Vikram Nath and Justice JB Pardiwala in an order passed in a suo motu PIL related to coronavirus.
#लोकडाउन की अवधि में यात्रियों की सुविधा लिए स्पेशल ट्रेनों का संचालन किया जा रहा है। साबरमती से नई दिल्ली के लिए स्पेशल ट्रेन चलाई जा रही है। अब अहमदाबाद से और 9 जोड़ी ट्रेनें एक जून 2020 से चलेंगी।इनका विवरण नीचे दिया गया है। @drmadiwr @RailMinIndia https://t.co/IN19xubnOR
— Western Railway (@WesternRly) May 31, 2020
As per the three-member committee report, patients receiving cancer chemo therapy, radio therapy and planned hemodialysis should undergo testing and so do all the pregnant women admitted in the hospitals located in containment area for delivery, in the best interest of the newborn.
The report stated that pre-operative testing for patients undergoing surgery or any other instrumentation can be done as per the discretion of the treating consultant, and emergency and lifesaving procedures may be carried out without waiting for COVID-19 testing in the best interest of patients.
અમદાવાદ ગ્રામ્યમાં આજરોજ નવા 8 કેસ નોંધાયા
બોપલ-ઘુમા વિસ્તારમાં બે નવા કેસ
1
સફલ પરિસર-2, સાઉથ બોપલ
2
જી બ્લોક, બિન્નોરી પાર્ક, બોપલઅન્ય છ કેસોની માહિતી – વિરમગામ 2, ધોળકા 2, સાણંદ 2 #Ahmedabad#CoronaPandemic #Bopal pic.twitter.com/8hUmkk1HuY
— DD News Gujarati (@DDNewsGujarati) May 31, 2020
“For rest of the patients (not covered in the above specified categories), we direct that the COVID testing by the treating physician or surgeon would require an approval to be obtained (from government health officer), but, at the same time, we direct and make it very clear that such approval should be granted at the earliest and, in any case, within 24 hours. This timeline to be strictly adhered to,” said the court.
અમદાવાદ ગ્રામ્યના કન્ટેઈન્મેન્ટ વિસ્તારોના નામ#GujaratFightsCovid19 #AhmedabadFightsCorona @DDOAHMEDABAD1 @CollectorAhd #ContainmentZones pic.twitter.com/6JxITDOPlI
— DD News Gujarati (@DDNewsGujarati) May 31, 2020
The court observed the “disturbing feature” of the government policy requiring private doctors to seek permission from government health officers for COVID-19 testing on patients being treated by them “takes two to four days before the permission is accorded and the test is performed” and “in a given case, this delay may prove to be fatal”.
The government testing policy required permission of Medical Superintendent of GMRC Hospital for private hospitals in Ahmedabad district and/or corporation area, permission from the chief health officer of the concerned district panchayat for hospitals in other districts, and permission from civic health officer for hospitals in other municipal corporation areas.
Defending itself, the government, in its reply to the court, had said its stand is “in tune with prevalent policy of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and that it has no relevance or connection with the socalled artificial control of data qua the number of cases in the state”.
“However, at the same time, the likelihood of fear psychosis being crept in, cannot be ruled out, if the COVID testing is allowed in all asymptomatic cases, just for acquiring a feeling of safety and security,” it said.
It further said at present, 19 government laboratories are sufficient and good enough to conduct the COVID test, even though the number of cases may rise.
Twelve private laboratories are also going to be utilized in case optimum capacity of 19 government labs is exhausted, while strictly following the guidelines of ICMR.
The government also said “there is no question of the qualified private laboratories not being granted permission to conduct COVID test in case they comply with ICMR guidelines”.
Regarding testing kits, the government told the court its laboratories had “sufficient COVID testing apparatus/kits, wherein COVID testing is provided free of cost”.
“Furthermore, as per prevalent regulations, private laboratories are at liberty to procure testing kits from the market, in as much as, the same are easily accessible by the laboratories and the state government is not required to procure and provide the same to private laboratories,” it said.
83% Covid-19 victims at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital had severe comorbidities: Gujarat govt
Over 83 percent of COVID-19 patients who died at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital suffered from “severe comorbidities,” the Gujarat government told the High Court on the basis of the analysis of 351 deaths at the facility.
Ahmedabad hospitals have so far reported 789 Covid-19 deaths, of which the Civil Hospital alone accounts for 415.
As per the analysis of COVID-19 deaths at Civil Hospital prepared by the Community Medicine Department of BJ Medical College here, 83.24 percent of 351 deceased patients had severe comorbidities, the state government said in a recent reply to Gujarat High Court.
These patients suffered from diabetes, hypertension, coronary heart disease, thyroid disorders, chronic kidney disease, chronic lung disease, CVA, pulmonary TB, liver disorder, psychiatric illness, cancer, neurological disorder, Parkinsonism, extra-pulmonary TB, seizures disorders, SLE, and rheumatic heart disease, it said.
The High Court had said “it is very distressing to note most of the patients in the Civil Hospital are dying after four days or more of the treatment”, adding “this indicates complete lack of critical care”.
The government cited a report by a leading infectious diseases expert, Dr Atul Patel, who said Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) is a major complication in patients with severe disease that appears soon after they suffer from dyspnea (difficult breathing).
“Among patients who developed severe disease, the medium time to dyspnea ranged from 5 to 8 days, the median time to ARDS ranged from 8 to 12 days, and the median time to ICU admission ranged from 10 to 12 days.
“These time periods are from the day of symptom to disease progression. Those cases who get admitted late may be already in the second week of their symptoms. Clinicians should be aware of the potential for some patients to rapidly deteriorate one week after illness onset,” Patel said.
In its order on a suo motu PIL related to coronavirus pandemic made available on Sunday, the Gujarat High Court directed the government to ensure “all necessary medical protocols as are laid down for different categories of patients are strictly adhered to so that no life is lost because of any kind of negligence or non-attendance”.
The court expressed satisfaction over the government’s reply that 47 new ventilators have been brought to the Civil Hospital for those critically ill and that the strength of medical officers had been enhanced.
Gujarat returnee Jharkhand woman migrant worker’s high praise of Shramik special gladdens Goyal
1 જુનથી સ્પેશિયલ ટ્રેન અમદાવાદ રેલવે સ્ટેશન પરથી જશે,
તમામ ટ્રેન સાબરમતી અને મણિનગર સ્ટેશને ઉભી રહેશે નહીં@RailMinIndia @RailwaySeva @SP_WR_Amd @SP_WR_Amd pic.twitter.com/0Wvmp2xh5Y
— DD News Gujarati (@DDNewsGujarati) May 31, 2020
A Jharkhand woman migrant worker’s words of praise on facilities provided in Shramik special train has gladdened Railway minister Piyush Goyal. Goyal posted a video clip in his tweet about the woman traveler expressed happiness over facilities provided by the Railways in the shramik special trains after reaching Hatia from Gujarat on May 28.
▶️અમદાવાદમાં કન્ટેઈનમેન્ટ ઝોન સિવાયના વિસ્તારોમાં સીટી બસોનું થશે સંચાલન
▶️1 જૂનથી સરકારની ગાઈડલાઈન પ્રમાણે સીટી બસોનું સંચાલન શરૂ થશે
▶️અમદાવાદ મ્યુનિસિપલ કોર્પોરેશન દ્વારા જાણકારી આપવામાં આવી@AmdavadAMC #AhmedabadFightsCorona #AMTS #CoronaPandemic pic.twitter.com/Enu8LqCkLZ
— DD News Gujarati (@DDNewsGujarati) May 31, 2020
The woman in the footage said, she had boarded the train from Gujarat to her home state Jharkhand and expressed delight at the facilities provided in the train. Thanks (to the Railway), she had told the interviewer.
Taking to Twitter, Goyal said on May 29, A woman passenger heading to her home state Jharkhand from Gujarat happily says that she got food, water and other facilities in the shramik special train). Goyal also said in the same tweet that the Railways has taken up the responsibility to take pravasi (migrant) workers to their home states, and continously succeeding in this work.
On Sunday, Union Health Minister Harshvardhan took to the Twitter to describe railway officials and employees as corona warriors, and made special mention of a Railway station master of Jharkhand. Railway warriors are fighting corona every day! The lifeline (train transport) is running for them. One of the warriors is (the) station master Shrimati Chand Kumari in Ranchi, he said. Harshvardhan added that the station master has lost her husband and and along with bringing up three children, she is ensuring railway traffic with concentration in #lockdown.
