by: Navjeevan Express

Gujarat reports 217 new coronavirus cases, nine deaths; 79 discharged

NE NEWS SERVICE

GANDHINAGAR, APRIL 23

The number of coronavirus cases in Gujarat reached 2,624 on Thursday after 217 new cases were reported since the previous night, a senior health official said.

Nine COVID-19 patients died during this period, taking the death toll due to the pandemic in the state to 112, said Principal Secretary, Health, Jayanti Ravi.

There are 2,254 active patients in the state now, 258 have been discharged while 112 have died.

151 new cases were reported in Ahmedabad alone, followed by Surat (41), Vadodara (7), Bharuch (5), and Anand (3).

Cases were also reported in other parts of the state, including two each in Botad and Kheda and one each in Aravalli, Bhavnagar, Gandhinagar, Panchmahal, Valsad, and Dang.

Out of the 2,624 cases reported across Gujarat so far, 1,652 have been detected in Ahmedabad district alone, followed by Surat (456), Vadodara (218), Rajkot(41) and 33 each in Bhavnagar and Anand among others.

Since Wednesday night, seven patients died in Ahmedabad hospitals and one each in Vadodara and Surat.

But the day’s silver lining was in the recovery of positive patients, as 79 patients were discharged from various hospitals across the state.

A total of 79 positive patients of coronavirus, after treatment were discharged, the maximum number so far in the state. 45 persons were discharged from Ibrahim Bava ITI, which has been converted into the COVID-19 care centre in Vadodara. 27 positive patients after treatment were discharged from hospitals in Ahmedabad. Also, 5 positive patients after treatment got discharged from Anand and one each from Chhota Udaipur and Kheda. A total of 258 patients have been discharged from hospitals till date in Gujarat.

Till now, laboratories in Gujarat have tested 42,384 samples.

Lauding the frontline health workers for their efforts in containing the virus, Ravi insisted that people should not make any comparisons with the statistics of coronavirus cases in other states.

“Some people compare Gujarat with Maharashtra. But that is not important at present. We did proactive screening to find out the maximum number of positive cases,” she said.

Crossing the 1,600-mark, Ahmedabad continued to lead the state with maximum positive cases found on Thursday with 151 fresh positive cases and continued to contribute almost 60-65 per cent of the state’s total.

There are 4 districts in the state where corona has not shown is appearance till now – Amreli, Surendranagar, Devbhoomi Dwarka and Junagadh.

There are a total 2,254 active cases, out of which the condition of 2,226 is stable, whereas 28 critical patients are still on the ventilator.

Gujarat has now become the state with not only the second-highest number of positive cases in the country after Maharashtra, but also as far as the casualties due to corona. Nine deaths were reported on Thursday, taking the total death toll to 112.

To date, out of the total 112 deaths, 69 people have died from the virus infection in Ahmedabad alone, followed by 13 in Surat, 11 in Vadodara, and 5 in Bhavnagar.

The total number of quarantined in the state is 34,409, where 29,667 are home quarantined, 4,436 in government facilities, and 306 in private facilities.

According to Wing Commander Puneet Chadha, Public Relations Officer, Gandhinagar, Ministry of Defence, three soldier craftsmen undergoing training at Military Station in Vadodara were tested Covid19 positive on Wednesday. All protocols and necessary actions have been taken by the Army authorities.  All three jawans have been admitted to SSG Hospital in Vadodara for treatment.

Recovered Muslim COVID-19 patients in Vadodara ready to donate plasma for treatment

Over forty Muslim coronavirus patients who were discharged from a hospital in Vadodara on Thursday have agreed to donate their blood plasma for the treatment of others, a community leader said.

Recently the Union government allowed Gujarat health authorities to use on an experimental basis the plasma transfusion therapy which aims to boost the immunity of critical patients.

Plasma (a component of blood) of recovered patients contains antibodies, which are supposed to help fight the infection when injected in other patients.

On Thursday, 44 Muslim patients were given the discharge orders from a COVID Care Centre in Vadodara after they tested negative for infection twice in two days, said community leader Zuber Goplani.

Since all of them were asymptomatic and in the non-critical stage, they were kept at this COVID centre, set up in the hostel premises of Ebrahim Bawany Industrial Training Institute on Ajwa road.

“With intensive care and quality food provided by authorities, they finally recovered,” Goplani added.

“Since the plasma of their blood now carries antibodies for coronavirus, we asked them to donate their plasma so that lives of other patients can be saved,” he said.

While leaving, more than 40 of them said they were ready to donate plasma.

Vinod Rao, who is in-charge of Vadodara COVID-19 operation, said doctors, officials, and community leaders persuaded these patients to donate their blood so that plasma can be extracted.

“I am glad to know that they have agreed to become plasma donors. The plasma of these 40-odd patients will be useful in saving the lives of 100 others,” said Rao.

Asymptomatic RAF jawan tests positive for COVID-19 in Ahmedabad, 130 quarantined

About 130 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel have been quarantined after their colleague, an RAF jawan, tested positive for COVID-19 in Ahmedabad, officials said on Thursday.

They said the infected jawan is a head constable-rank official and works as a driver for the 100th battalion of the Rapid Action Force, the blue dungaree donning anti-riot unit of the paramilitary force.

The RAF jawan was asymptomatic and had himself gone for coronavirus testing, the officials said.

The battalion is based in Ahmedabad.

The jawan had been on active duty and after he was confirmed with coronavirus pandemic infection a contact-tracing procedure was carried out and about 130 personnel of his unit, including about a dozen who were in his direct contact, have been quarantined, they said.

Misbehaviour or attacks on police, health or government employee will not be tolerated: DGP

Director General of Police Shivanand Jha said that misbehavior or attacks on police, health of any government employee will not be tolerated and strict action will be taken against the culprits. They will be booked under the ‘PASA’ act. In three separate cases of attacks on a policeman, a health worker, and a government employee, the accused were arrested and booked under the ‘PASA’ act.

One of the accused was arrested from the limits of Jetpur City Police Station in Rajkot (rural) and handed over to Surat jail. In another case, three individuals who attacked a health worker at Balisana village in Sabarkantha have been arrested by the police and sent to Rajkot, Surat and Vadodara jails, respectively. Similarly, 11 people who attacked the police personnel on April 11at Byad in Aravalli district have been arrested and sent to Surat jail. So far, 22 accused in a total of six such cases have been booked under ‘PASA’ and sent to various jails in the state. Out of these, four cases are of attacks on police personnel, one on health workers and one on revenue employees.

Reiterating the need to maintain social distance during the lockdown, Jha said, “We are constantly taking necessary steps to ensure that social distance is maintained through surveillance from drones and CCTV. We have also registered 31 offenses and taken necessary action against the complaints received on police helpline number 100.”

Jha said that 4 more crimes have been registered against Tablighi Jamaat today. Besides Tablighi, offences have also been registered against 19 members of the Sura Jamaat. In Ahmedabad, Surat, and Rajkot, 164, 147, and 107 offences of a violation of curfew have been registered and 197, 167 and 119 individuals have been arrested from the three cities. 335 people were arrested for 189 crimes through CCTV surveillance in various societies.

Throwing light on the significant use of drones and CCTV during the lockdown, Jha said that, the cities and towns are being thoroughly observed through drone surveillance. A total of 16,064 people have been arrested for 7,850 offences to date. Meanwhile, under the Smart City and VISWAS project, 104 people have been arrested for 83 crimes reported through the CCTV network.

For spreading fake messages and rumors on social media, a total of 421 crimes have been registered and 795 accused have been arrested. 17 social media accounts have been blocked. 60 and 119 offenses have been registered through videography and automatic number plate recognition (ANPR), respectively. 34 offences have been registered to date through mounted cameras in special ‘Prahari’ Vans. Cases that have been registered so far include 2,271 cases of violation of lockdown, 853 against violating home quarantine, and 425 other cases. 3177 vehicles have been seized in the state, added  Jha