1,009 new cases take Gujarat's COVID-19 tally near 65,000 mark, Ahmedabad's largest mall sealed

The number of recovered cases in Gujarat rose to 47,561 with 974 more patients getting discharged from various hospitals, the department said in a release.
Healthcare workers wearing personal protective equipment PPE kits collect swab samples of municipal school teachers for COVID-19 test in Ahmedabad. (Photo | PTI)
Healthcare workers wearing personal protective equipment PPE kits collect swab samples of municipal school teachers for COVID-19 test in Ahmedabad. (Photo | PTI)

AHMEDABAD: Gujarat reported 1,009 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, taking its tally to 64,684, while the death toll crossed the 2,500-mark, the state health department said.

With 22 COVID-19 patients dying in the last 24 hours, statewide fatalities rose to 2,509, it said.

The number of recovered cases in Gujarat rose to 47,561 with 974 more patients getting discharged from various hospitals, the department said in a release.

Surat reported the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the state at 258, which took the tally in the district to 14,420.

With 151 new cases, Ahmedabad's tally rose to 26,969.

Among other districts, Vadodara reported 98 new cases, Rajkot 85, Bhavnagar 47, Jamnagar 34, Dahod 29, Mehsana 26, Gandhinagar 25, Panchmahal 22, Junagadh 21, Kheda 20, Amreli 19, Bharuch 18, Kutch 17, Botad 16, Sabarkantha 15, Morbi 14, Surendranagar 13, Navsari 12, Anand 11 and Banaskantha 10, among others.

With 11 new fatalities, Surat's death toll rose to 632, while Ahmedabad's toll rose to 1,609 with six fatalities.

One death each was reported in Bhavnagar, Junagadh, Kutch, Rajkot and Vadodara, the department said.

Out of 974 new recoveries, Surat reported 195, and Ahmedabad 109, taking the recovered cases in the two districts to 9,515 and 21,801, respectively.

There are now 14,614 active cases, of which 83 patients are on ventilator, and 14,531 are stable, the department said.

The state conducted 19,769 tests in the last 24 hours, at a rate of 304.13 tests per day per million, it said.

A total 8,34,104 samples have been tested for coronavirus in the state so far, the department said.

Gujarat COVID-19 figures are as follows: Positive cases 64,684, new cases 1,009, deaths 2,509, discharged 47,561, active cases 14,614 and people tested so far 8,34,104.

The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) sealed the "Ahmedabad One" mall here in Gujarat on Monday over alleged violations of guidelines in place to contain the spread of coronavirus.

"Ahmedabad One", located in the posh Vastrapur area, is considered as the largest mall in the city.

It houses many high-end showrooms and eateries, attracting thousands of visitors.

Malls in Gujarat have been allowed to operate but with a slew of guidelines related to crowding and adherence to social distancing and other norms related to COVID-19.

On Friday, a large number of people were present inside the sprawling mall for shopping ahead of Raksha Bandhan (on Monday), said civic officials.

"Similar scenes were witnessed on Sunday also. Today, an AMC team saw people roaming inside shops without masks and also flouting social distancing norms."

"A large number of people had flocked the mall and no social distancing was being maintained," said Director of AMC's Solid Waste Department, Harshad Solanki.

The AMC team first asked visitors and shopowners to vacate the place and then the entire premises was sealed, said AMC Deputy Director MB Shah.

"We saw many visitors roaming inside the mall without wearing masks. There was a lack of social distancing too. This can lead to infection."

"Thus, we have sealed the mallfor an indefinite period," said Shah, who led the AMC inspection team.

Similar action will be taken against other malls also if they are found violating the norms and rules laid down by the government to stop the spread of coronavirus, Shah warned.

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com