The single-day coronavirus positive cases crossed 3,000-mark on Monday in Gujarat for the first time since the global pandemic broke out last year. The state reported a total of 3,160 cases and 15 deaths in the last 24 hours. The rising cases have increased immense pressure on health infrastructure across four major cities including Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat and Rajkot which are the worst affected.
According to state health department's news bulletin, the number of active cases in the state stood at 16,252. Officials said that due to surge in daily cases, barely 17 per cent of critical patient beds were vacant out of 851 beds across 100 private hospitals in Ahmedabad. Similarly, out of 3,800 covid-19 beds in the city, over 80 per cent is occupied. Almost similar conditions are prevalent in Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot. On Monday, Ahmedabad reported 773 new cases in a day, followed by Surat 603, Rajkot 283 and Vadodara 216 cases.
The situation forced the state government to take up new measures to deal with the infection. It handed over special responsibilities of eight cities-Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, Junagadh, Jamanagar, Bhavnagar and Gandhinagar- to eight IAS/IFS officers to supervise fight against the virus. Late in the night, the government announced that oxygen producers in the state will have to supply 60 per cent of their produce for patients of covid-19. The government has also decided to make three-layer masks at all Agriculture Produce Market Committee and Amul milk parlours for Re 1.
In view of the rising case, the state government has ordered to close all schools from Monday to indefinite times. An official in the health department said, "We are expecting the rise for at least two more weeks. We don't have any proven reason behind the rise but we believe that due to new covid-19 strains, the infection is spreading alarmingly. The government is trying to increase the number of covid-19 beds in a couple of days to ease the burden."
On April 2, Surat municipal corporation also released a note saying the new strain of the virus was highly infectious and its symptoms were also different. It stated that the virus can enter the lungs in no time and cause pneumonia. It said that joint pain, weakness and loss of appetite could also be caused by the virus.
Published 05 April 2021, 15:58 IST