Gujarat: Covid-19 death toll passes 1,900-mark, mortality rate down yet highest

The death toll from coronavirus in Gujarat passed 1,900-mark on Friday with the state recording 18 fresh deaths in the past 24 hours. This is the third highest number of casualties from the virus in the country after Maharashtra and New Delhi. The state's mortality rate continues to be highest in the country with nearly 5.5 percent which has come down from over 6 percent in the last two weeks as number of deaths is witnessed a decline.

On the other hand, the number of daily new confirmed cases is also increasing in the state for the past couple of weeks. The state recorded 687 new cases on Friday, its highest single-day spike till date, taking the total to 34,686. For nearly a week, over 600 cases are being detected in the state on daily basis. Health officials attribute the rise to 'diamond city' Surat emerging as new hotspot for the virus. Officials are blaming the diamond units in Surat where a large number of workers have been found infected.

The deteriorating situation in Surat has forced the Principal Secretary, Health, Jayanti Ravi to camp in the city for the past four days while the government on Friday announced that Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, his deputy Nitin Patel, who is also health minister, along with senior officers will be visiting the city on Saturday to check the preparation. Health department's data says that Surat has 5274 total confirmed cases till Friday, out of which, 2001 are active cases barely 1000 short of Ahmedabad.

The Surat Municipal Commissioner Banchhanidhi Pani announced closure of pan shops in containment areas to contain the spread. Earlier, he had ordered closure of all diamond units falling within the containment zones after over 700 diamond workers were tested positive.