163 new coronavirus cases in Gujarat, count 929

The number of coronavirus cases in Gujarat stood at 929 on Thursday after 163 new patients were detected, a senior official said.

Three COVID-19 patients died in the state since Wednesday night, taking the death toll to 36, said Principal Secretary, Health, Jayanti Ravi.

Till now, 73 patients have recovered and given discharge from hospitals in the state. It includes nine patients who walked out of hositals on Thursday.

Of 163 new cases reported since Wednesday night, 95 were detected in Ahmedabad and 37 in Surat, Ravi said.

Other districts where new cases were found were Anand (8), Vadodara (7), Banaskantha (4), Narmada (4), Rajkot (4). One case each was found in Gandhinagar, Arvalli, Kheda and Panchmahal districts.

Ravi said more cases are emerging because of intensive surveillance and testing in infection hotspots, including the areas placed under curfew till April 21 in the walled city of Ahmedabad.

A 62-year-old man from Kutch, an 80-year-old man from Botad and a 60-year-old woman from Ahmedabad died due to coronavirus since Wednesday night.

In Ahmedabad, most of the new cases have come to light in hotspots such as Juhapura, Kalupur, Jamalpur, Behrampura, Danilimda, Bodakdev, Gomtipur and Meghaninagar.

Notably, out of 33 districts of Gujarat, not a single coronavirus case has been reported in nine districts till now.

The majority of cases have come to light in five districts -- Ahmedabad (545), Vadodara (128), Surat (88), Rajkot(28) and Bhavnagar (26).

The state authorities have conducted as many as 20,903 tests to identify infected patients, Ravi said.

Nine patients recovered from the infection on Thursday, taking the total number of such persons to 73.

Those who were given discharge during the day included a 92-year-old man from Bhavnagar and a 75-year-old woman from Ahmedabad.