60% of total Covid-19 cases in Gujarat reported from eight cities: CM

Nearly 60 per cent of the

total COVID-19 cases in Gujarat were reported from eight major cities, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said on Tuesday and called for better coordination between officials and office-bearers of civic bodies.

The CM held a virtual review meeting with senior officials, mayors and other office-bearers of municipal corporations of Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot, Vadodara, Bhavnagar, Jamnagar, Gandhinagar and Junagadh.

"A total of 60 per cent of the total COVID-19 cases in Gujarat are reported from the eight major cities. I am confident that we could stem the spread of the virus if office-bearers (elected wing) of municipal corporations play a key role in that exercise," Rupani is quoted as saying in an official release.

Gujarat's overall case tally stood at 3,53,516 and the death toll at 4,855 as of April 12, the health department had said.

The chief minister said cooperation and people's participation is a must to tackle the pandemic.

"It is the responsibility of the elected representatives to ensure that people follow rules prescribed by the government to control the spread of the virus," the CM said.

Rupani further stated that his government has arranged more than 18,000 beds during the last 15 days to ensure that no patient is left without proper treatment, the release said.

Since Remdesivir, a crucial drug for coronavirus patients, is produced by only some companies in Gujarat, the state government is procuring around 20,000 injections of the drug from states such as Assam and Maharashtra, it said.