Gujarat: Deputy mamlatdar among 33 dead in a day; Amreli gets first containment zone

Among the deaths, 14 were reported with Covid-19 as the primary cause, while 19 others had co-morbid conditions. Ahmedabad reported 31 deaths and Surat two. Nearly two months since the first case was reported in the state on March 19, the death toll in Gujarat reached 660.

Deputy mamlatdar Dinesh Raval who succumbed to the disease was at Civil Sola Hospital since last week. More than a dozen employees have so far tested positive for the virus at the Ahmedabad collectorate.

Ahmedabad Collector KK Nirala told The Indian Express, “The fear is not how many are testing positive but how many are asymptomatic. We are highly exposed as we meet everyone… we cannot close down just because people are getting infected. We only have a limited control over things… We request people not to come to the collectorate office for work that can be done over phone but not many abide by this.” Nirala also put up a condolence message for Raval on Twitter.

On Sunday, 191 persons recovered and were discharged, taking the recovery rate to 39.53 per cent, said principal secretary health Jayanti Ravi. As many as 4,499 persons have been discharged so far. Among the active patients, 6148 patients are stable while 38 are critical and on ventilator.

Ahmedabad district reported the highest number of Covid-19 cases on Sunday with 274 being reported from the city and 2 from the district.

Referring to a news report that an indigenous ventilator manufactured by Rajkot-based company was questioned, Ravi said: “Dhaman ventilator is manufactured and fabricated in Gujarat and its use has started at different centres. Even in developed countries, ventilators are in short supply. Rajkot-based Jyoti CNC Automation Limited decided to take up this challenge for the country,” Ravi said.

She said that Jyoti CNC initiated the fabrication of 1,000 ventilators free of cost. “The ventilators are equipped with all parameters tested and approved by Gandhinagar-based Electronics and Quality development Centre (EQDC). It was inspected and approved by experts at Civil Hospital, after which the state government approved it,” she said.

“Process is on to add a few additions. We should take pride that such courageous attempt has been made by a Gujarat start-up. Government of India is in talks to use it too,” Ravi added.

Among the success stories shared by the state government was of Nafisabano Khajuriwala, a 23-year-old Vadodara resident who was full term pregnant and admitted at SSG Hospital on April 30 for delivery. She gave birth the same and tested positive for Covid-19 the next day, following which the baby was separated from the mother. On May 11, the woman recovered and was discharged with her baby.

Amreli’s second case was of a 11-year-old boy who returned to his native place in Bagasara town from Surat. “The boy arrived in Amreli by a GSRTC bus from Varachha area in Surat on May 13. He had fever and was tested. His reports came Sunday morning,” a release from the information department quoted Amreli collector Ayush Oak as saying.

An officer of district health department said that the boy went to community health centre in Bagasara on Saturday with complaint of fever. “Doctors at CHC referred the patient to Amreli Civil Hospital and his samples were taken for Covid-19 testing. The samples tested positive on Sunday,” said a top officer.

The release said that 26 of his close contacts, including his family members, have been quarantined while 294 houses in the radius of 200 metres from the boy’s residence has been declared containment zone. Around 1,500 people live in the area.

This is the first containment zone in Amreli district. The district’s first case was that of a 67-year-old woman who tested positive Wednesday. She had come from Surat. Her infection was detected during health screening on her arrival itself and therefore no containment zone was created. Amreli had remained untouched by infection for around two months from the date Gujarat recorded its first case. It was the last green zone in the state.