30 new cases in Gujarat – highest in a day, officials say taken 1,000 samples

Four COVID-19 patients — a 47-year-old Patan resident and two others in Surat – died on Tuesday. A 14-month old baby in Jamnagar who tested positive on Sunday too succumbed to COVID19. With this, the death toll in the state has risen to 16.

Sabarkantha and Anand districts also reported the first positive cases. In Sabarkantha, a 33-year-old male nurse from Himmatnagar, working in the isolation ward, tested positive.

A 37-year-old man in Rajkot, who tested positive on March 26, was discharged on Tuesday. Rajkot also reported a positive patient after seven days.

Of the 29 cases, 19 were reported from Ahmedabad taking the total number of infected people in the district to 83.

“Ahmedabad city’s strategy is surveillance and mass testing. This strategy is based on countries that have been successful (in tackling the pandemic), especially the strategy seen in South Korea where they tested the maximum that they could,” Municipal Commissioner Vijay Nehra said.

He added that 750 teams have been deployed for intensive door-to-door survey. The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation also announced extensive mass testing and has started mobile testing vans in seven zones of the AMC covering the 48 wards.

Each van will have a surveillance team and a testing team. Surveillance team will have a doctor and two paramedical staff. Testing team will include a medical college doctor and two interns.

The seven vans, one for each zone, at the moment will prioritise the eight clusters and samples of all suspected cases will be taken, the municipal commissioner said.

Surveillance teams will be provided with thermal guns and those who have high temperature will be taken to the van and their samples will be taken on the spot.

“Since March 17, when Ahmedabad reported its first positive case, samples of 650 people across AMC jurisdiction were taken for testing. We have increased that now and within 24 hours we have taken 650 samples. So, more cases will come up in the coming days,” added Nehra.

After the AMC, Rajkot Municipal Commissioner has also issued an order making identity of all the COVID-19 patients public on Tuesday.

A 42-year-old labourer from Jungleshwar was tested positive on Tuesday. The patient had on Monday evening consulted Dr Jaiman Upadhyay, who is also former Rajkot Mayor.

Following this, Dr Upadhyay said that he was going into self-quarantine as a precautionary measure.

“I examined from a distance of three feet and was wearing apron, gloves, face-mask etc. But as a precautionary measure, me and my son, who was also present in the clinic at that time, are going into self-isolation,” Dr Upadhyay told The Indian Express.

Chief District Health Officer Dr Mitesh Bhanderi said that the patient has comorbid condition of tuberculosis. He was referred to Rajkot civil hospital by Dr Upadhyay after he went to the latter’s clinic.

RMC officers said that six family members of the 42-year-old man had been shifted to an institutional quarantine facility.

In Bhavnagar, a 29-year old woman tested positive on Tuesday, taking the total tally to 14 in the district. Another 55-year old man who tested positive on March 30, was discharged.

A 22-year-old man from Nagarwada tested positive, taking the total number of positive cases in Vadodara to 13. Earlier his 15-year-old brother had tested positive on Monday. He is now undergoing treatment at GMERS Special COVID-19 facility.

Patan district reported one death of a 47-year old man, who was the first person to test positive in the district.

According to District Collector Anand Patel, the 47-year-old man had travelled to Sidhpur from Mumbai in mid-March, with three others.

The three others have also tested positive on Tuesday.

“All four of them had travelled in a single vehicle. We had traced the people who had come in close contact with the patient. He had stayed at his sister’s house. While other family members tested negative, his brother-in-law tested positive yesterday,” said Patel.

The Patan collector said that three of the positive cases are from Sidhpur town and two are from a neighbouring village, Nedra. “We have completely sealed Sidhpur town and 20 villages in the buffer zone. Total 44 close contacts of those tested positive have been put under institutional quarantine,” he added.

Three persons with no travel history tested positive in Surat on Tuesday. These include a 67-year-old woman from Rander, a 40-year-old man from Rampura, a driver at a hospital, and another 42-year old woman from Adajan area.

The third patient’s 50- year-old husband had already tested positive on Sunday and is undergoing treatment in Mission hospital at Athwalines. His condition is reported to be stable.

A 52-year-old man from Rander with comorbid conditions of hypertension, diabetes and depression and another 65-year old patient, from Zampa Bazaar with comorbid conditions of hypertension, died on Tuesday.

Surat Municipal Commissioner Banchhanidhi Pani said, “We have found that large number of cases are coming from Adajan and Rander areas. We have intensified door to door health survey in these areas and the movements of people had been restricted.”