In its biggest single day spike, Gujarat recorded three deaths and 29 novel coronavirus positive cases on Tuesday. The total cases have jumped to 175 and the toll has climbed to 15.
More worrisome is the fact that the infection has covered 17 of the 33 districts with Ahmedabad emerging as a major hotspot with over 80 cases.
On Tuesday, two deaths occurred in Surat and one in Patan district of North Gujarat.
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According to the Health department’s bulletin, so far 25 people have recovered and been discharged from their respective hospitals while four infected persons are on the ventilator and said to be critical.
So far, five patients died in Ahmedabad and four in Surat while two succumbed to the infection in Bhavnagar and Vadodara each. One death each was reported from Panchmahal and Patan.
So far 3,552 samples have been tested from across the State.
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The authorities have identified 15 hotspot clusters from where the largest number of cases have emanated, prompting the authorities to concentrate their efforts on those spots.
In Ahmedabad, the civic body has now rolled out seven vans for carrying out intensive surveillance and collecting samples of suspected cases from the identified clusters.
The civic body’s move was followed by the State government’s decision to implement a cluster containment plan across 15 localities in Ahmedabad, Bhavnagar, Vadodara and Surat.
In Ahmedabad, the vans rolled out by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation will cater to seven zones in the city and each van will be accompanied by a three-member surveillance team equipped with a thermal gun and three personnel who will collect samples. Both these teams are led by two doctors and multi purpose health workers.
“As part of the intensive surveillance & enhanced testing strategy, the AMC has started Corona Mobile Testing Vans in Ahmedabad today morning. 7 vans for 7 Zones. Each van has a surveillance team [with thermal guns] & a testing team for sample collection,” Municipal Commissioner Vijay Nehra said.