82 COVID-19 cases in Guj; search on for Nizamuddin returnees

The number of coronavirus cases in Gujarat rose to 82 on Wednesday after eight more people tested positive, officials said, adding that efforts were on to trace nearly 1,500 people from the state who recently visited Delhi's Nizamuddin area.

A religious congregation held earlier this month at Nizamuddin West has turned out to be one of the major COVID-19 hotspots in the country.

According to the details sent by the Centre to the Gujarat health department, around 1,500 people recently returned to the state after visiting the Nizamuddin area in the national capital.

Efforts were underway to trace these people, and information is also being gathered if those who came in contact with these people display any symptoms of the virus, the state health department said in a release.

Meanwhile, state Principal Secretary (Health) Jayanti Ravi told reporters that all the eight new cases have been reported from Ahmedabad.

Of these cases, four are of inter-state travel, three of local transmission, and one patient has foreign travel history, she said.

The total number of locally transmitted cases in the state has now gone up to 41, while there are 33 cases of patients with foreign travel history. Eight patients have inter-state travel history, she said.

Of the 70 active cases, the condition of 67 is stable while three are on ventilator support, the official said.

Six COVID-19 patients have died in the state, she said, adding that six have so far been discharged.

With locally transmitted cases on the rise, the health department has surveyed 6.3 crore people in the state so far. Of these, 265 people were found with symptoms of coronavirus and shifted to quarantine facilities.

Total 19,206 people are quarantined in the state, including 18,487 who are under home quarantine, 743 in government facilities and 23 in private facilities, she said.