Coronavirus | 577 cases, 18 COVID-19 deaths in Gujarat

Gujarat’s COVID-19 infection tally jumped to 29,578 with 577 new cases while the fatality count has reached 1,754 with 18 new deaths on Thursday.

Moreover, with 410 new discharges, total patients so far discharged stand at 21,506. There are now 6,318 active patients, out of which 66 are critical and surviving on ventilator support.

The State’s infection curve is rising but there is a silver lining. “We may be able to see a declining trend in mortality now onward while cases may continue to rise for another two weeks,” a noted infectious diseases expert told

The Hindu .

Another trend emerging is the slower pace of infection in Ahmedabad, while it is rising in Surat, where more than 100 cases have been reported for the last several days.

So far, 1391 persons have died of COVID-19 in Ahmedabad, while the fatality count in Surat is about 150.

Meanwhile, the State government on Thursday reduced the rates for COVID-19 testing by private laboratories, fixing it at ₹2,500 per test of the sample is collected at the laboratory, or ₹3,000 if the sample is collected from home.

Nitin Patel, Gujarat’s Deputy CM and Health Minister, directed all private laboratories to comply with the government’s directive on the rates for testing. He warned that strict action would be taken if any private laboratory was found to be charging above the rate fixed by the government.

A team led by Joint Secretary Lav Aggarwal from the Central government will be visiting Ahmedabad on Friday to discuss COVID-19-related issues in the State. The team is likely to visit Civil Hospital and containment zones in the city.