Central teams visit Ahmedabad, Surat to assess situation

Two teams of the Union government on Saturday met local officials in Ahmedabad and Surat districts of Gujarat where the number of coronavirus cases has risen sharply in the last few days.

Two inter-ministerial central teams (IMCT) headed by Additional Secretary-level officers visited Ahmedabad and Surat Saturday to assess the COVID-19 situation, officials said.

On Friday, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had said the situation in these two emerging hotspots in Gujarat as well as in Thane, Hyderabad and Chennai was "especially serious".

The central teams met the collector, municipal commissioner and police commissioner among other officials in Ahmedabad and Surat.

Ahmedabad Municipal Commissioner Vijay Nehra said the visiting officials expressed satisfaction over the AMC's response to the outbreak.

"We had a detailed discussion with the central team. They were given all the information. They expressed satisfaction, and said steps regarding active surveillance and aggressive testing adopted by AMC will be made exemplary so the central government could share it with other cities," he said.

The central team officials discussed measures taken in containment zones in central and south zones of the city, and later visited SVP Hospital where coronavirus patients are being treated.

In Surat, the team also visited a gymkhana where food is prepared for distribution to 30,000-35,000 people daily during lockdown.

The central team also visited the COVID-19 control room of the Surat Municipal Corporation, officials said.

Coronavirus cases in Ahmedabad crossed 2,000-mark to reach 2,003 on Saturday, while in Surat the number went up to 496, with 182 and 34 new cases, respectively.

The teams had been sent by the Union government to make on-the-spot assessment of the situation and issue necessary directions to state authorities and submit a report to the Centre.