With 1,365 new Covid-19 cases, Gujarat tally crosses 1.12 lakh; death toll at 3,222

Ahmedabad reported 175 new cases the same day – 153 from Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) limits and 22 from rural areas. The total cases have reached 32,553 here and the death toll stands at 1,754, including three deaths reported from the city on Saturday.

In continuation of the aggressive testing drive by the AMC at Kalupur railway station, a total 1,713 passengers from three trains were tested on Saturday. Of these, 31 passengers tested positive.

To ensure that there is no shortage of medical oxygen in Covid hospitals in Ahmedabad, the AMC appointed two Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) officials – CA Shah and ND Ajmera – as nodal officers.

The duo have been appointed to work in coordination with Deputy Municipal Commissioner (Health), OP Machra, and Dr Manish Bansal, officer on special duty for Covid hospitals, to ensure a smooth supply chain. They have been directed to supervise and monitor medical oxygen manufacturers, distributors and dealers supplying oxygen to Covid hospitals in Ahmedabad.

The decision comes two days after the AMC had to shift seven patients to the government-run civil hospital at Sola from a private, designated Covid hospital, Parekh Hospital, when it had run out of oxygen. The latter has a private tie-up for supply of medical oxygen with one Cosmic Agency, which was unable to meet the demand.

Subsequently, the state government had issued a notification on September 10 to regularise the supply and circulation of medical oxygen from production units across the state.

From the Saurashtra region, Rajkot and Jamnagar districts reported the highest number of cases – 146 and 125 respectively. With this, the tally has reached 7,248 cases in Rajkot and 4,048 cases in Jamnagar.

Among 15 deaths reported across the state, two deaths each were from Bhavnagar and Rajkot – one each from rural and urban areas of both districts. One death each was also reported from Gandhinagar, Gir Somnath and Vadodara city.