NE NEWS SERVICE
GANDHINAGAR, APRIL 14
The number of coronavirus cases in Gujarat rose to 617 as 45 more people tested positive for the disease, the state health department said on Tuesday.
Address to the nation. https://t.co/26sVP2br5n
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 14, 2020
Among the new cases, 31 were reported from Ahmedabad, nine from Surat, two from Mehsana, and one each from Bhavnagar, Dahod, and Gandhinagar, it said.
गुजरात के अमरेली जिले के अन्न दाताओं ने की अभिनव पहल…
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A 20-year-old patient was also discharged from a hospital in Ahmedabad, taking the total number of those who recovered to 55. The state has so far reported 26 deaths due to coronavirus.
Ahmedabad has till now reported 351 COVID-19 cases and 13 deaths, while Vadodara has reported 107 cases.
आदरणीय प्रधानमंत्री श्री @narendramodi जी ने COVID-19 के संक्रमण को फैलने से रोकने और इसे पूरी तरह समाप्त करने के लिए देशभर में किये गए लॉकडाउन को 03 मई तक बढ़ाने की घोषणा की है। आइये हम सभी, भारतवासियों के जीवन और उनकी रक्षा के लिए इस निर्णय का स्वागत करें।#IndiaFightsCorona
— Vijay Rupani (Modi Ka Parivar) (@vijayrupanibjp) April 14, 2020
People pop up, stock hydroxychloroquine; Govt intervenes
People in Gujarat have been consuming and stocking up hydroxychloroquine, being touted as ‘game-changer’ in the fight against coronavirus, prompting the state government to issue a warning against its health hazards and a directive to chemists not to sell it over the counter. India is the world’s largest manufacturer of hydroxychloroquine, which is used in the treatment of malaria.
Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi’s 7 pleas to the countrymen…
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— Vijay Rupani (Modi Ka Parivar) (@vijayrupanibjp) April 14, 2020
But, its demand has now increased after US President Donald Trump requested the Indian government to allow its export to America to treat COVID-19 patients.
“We have come to know that people were rushing to medical stores to buy hydroxychloroquine after it came in news and was also mentioned as an effective medicine by US President Trump for those infected by COVID-19,” Gujarat Food and Drug Control Authority Commissioner H G Koshia said. It has come to light that many people are taking the medicine or stocking it due to the coronavirus fear, he said.
“This is a scheduled H drug, which can be sold by chemist on a prescription of a registered medical practitioner. It is not in the interest of normal people to take the schedule H drug, which can be sold by chemist on a prescription of a registered medical practitioner. It is not in the interest of normal people to take the scheduled H drug if they do not have COVID-19 symptoms, he said.
This type of self-medication can cause harm and side effects if not taken under proper care of doctors, he warned. “Therefore, we have advised people not to take the medicine without the prescription of doctors. We have also asked chemists not to sell the drug to patients coming without the doctors’ prescription,” the official said.
Chemists have been asked to maintain a register of purchase and sale of the drug, which they have to do for all the scheduled H drugs, he said. A chemist in Bopal area of Ahmedabad said many people come to his store asking for hydroxychloroquine in a day, but he sells it only to those who have proper prescription.
Koshia said the Gujarat government has enough stock of the medicine, but an advisory has been issued so that there is no shortage of the drug in the open market.
“If everybody starts stocking or consuming the drug, it will create a shortage in the market. This advisory is issued so that this anti-malarial drug is available for patients who need it, he said. The Gujarat government stockpiled over one crore shots of the medicine as it became clear that this can be a useful medicine against coronavirus, he said, adding that the drug is manufactured in a large quantity in the state.
