COVID-19 death toll climbs to 28 in Gujarat, curfew imposed in 3 places in Ahmedabad till April 21

With two more deaths due to the novel coronavirus in Gujarat, the state death toll due to the virus on Tuesday has risen to 28, as per the State Health Department.

Meanwhile, the state has reported 33 new positive cases, taking the total number of cases to 650 including 59 recovered/discharged, the department said.

In a press conference here, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said Ahmedabad has more than 350 coronavirus positive cases, which means that more than 50 per cent cases in Gujarat are from Ahmedabad.

He said most of the cases in Ahmedabad are from the walled city and Danilimda area. The state government has decided to impose curfew in Danilimda, Jamalpur and Dariyapur till April 21."We have decided to focus on these areas to control spread of coronavirus. From 6 am tomorrow till 21st April 6 am curfew to remain imposed in Danilimda, Jamalpur and Dariyapur. From 1-4 pm daily curfew will be lifted but only women of these areas will be given this freedom," he said.

In Surat, a large group of migrant labourers demanded permission to return to their native states. They later dispersed after police intervened and persuaded them to vacate the area and return to the place of their stay."Labourers gathered and wanted to go back to their home states. We explained to them that lockdown is extended so no vehicular movement is possible. They also complained that they're not getting food. We called an agency which is serving food. We are requesting people to take it," said DCP Surat.

The 21-day nationwide lockdown in India, which was imposed till April 14, has been extended till May 3 with strict restrictions in place till April 20. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that a decision on easing restrictions will be taken after a week, only at places which do not have COVID-19 hotspots.