This story is from April 5, 2021

Bharuch: Nine cremated, but official toll zero?

The District Health Department has come under fire from citizens of Bharuch for not presenting the real picture, which is a grim one, regarding the numbers of Covid-19 infections and casualties.
Bharuch: Nine cremated, but official toll zero?
People line up for testing in Bharuch
BHARUCH/SURAT: The District Health Department has come under fire from citizens of Bharuch for not presenting the real picture, which is a grim one, regarding the numbers of Covid-19 infections and casualties.
According to the District Health Department bulletin, 129 positive cases and zero deaths were reported in the industrial district of Bharuch in last week.
But it came to light that as many as nine dead bodies were cremated at the Covid-19 designated crematorium near Golden Bridge on the bank of Narmada while one was buried at the cemetery in Bharuch.
“The situation is worsening by the day as the coronavirus is spreading very fast. The district health department and administration need to be proactive. The department should release the correct figures so that citizens know about the gravity of the situation. Long queues outside pathological laboratory in Bharuch for RTPCR testing show how wrong the government’s figures are,” said Jivraj Patel, president of Bharuch Citizen Council.
Shamsad Ali Saiyed, municipal councillor and leader of opposition at the civic body, echoed Patel’s view. “Government should not hide the numbers. Many relatives of the patients have approached us and informed that people are dying because of shortage of ventilators,” Saiyed said.
District Collector Dr A M Modiya, though, stressed on the importance of vaccination. “Vaccination has started in 245 centres across the district and all those above the age of 45 years should get vaccinated. It is a concern that against the target of 4.06 lakh senior citizens only 90, 000, which is just 22%, took the jab,” Modiya said.
“Around 800 beds are reserved for Covid-19 patients in various hospitals. Bharuch Civil hospital, Sewashram, Patel welfare, and ESIC Hospital, Ankleshwar, are providing free of cost treatment to the patients,” Modiya added. But sources informed that though the ESIC Hospital has 50 beds, it doesn’t have facility of ventilators.
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