Coronavirus cases in Gujarat cross 1,000-mark, five more die

The number of coronavirus cases in Gujarat rose to 1,099 after 170 new cases were reported since Thursday night, a senior official said.

With five patients dying, the death toll due to the pandemic stood at 41, said Principal Secretary, Health, Jayanti Ravi on Friday.

Those who succumbed to the viral infection since Thursday night included a 31-year-old man from Vadodara and a 55-year-old man, a 70-year-old woman and two men aged 69 in Ahmedabad, she said.

Of 41 deaths in Gujarat so far, 21 were reported in Ahmedabad alone, followed by six in Vadodara, five in Surat, three in Bhavnagar and one each in Gandhinagar, Patan, Panchmahal, Kutch, Botad and Jamnagar.

In good news, 13 patients recovered and were discharged from hospitals since Thursday night, taking the total number of patients who have recovered to 86, Ravi said.

Of the 170 new cases in the state, 77 caseswere reported in Ahmedabad, followed by 52 in Surat, 14 in Vadodara, eight in Bharuch, five in Narmada and three each in Banaskantha and Botad districts, she said.

Two cases have been found in Panchmahal and one each in Anand, Chhotaudepur, Dahod, Kheda and Mahisagar.

Ravi attributed the spurt in the number of cases in the state to intensive surveillance and testing in hotspots.

The majority of cases reported in Ahmedabad since Thursday were found in Kalupur, Raikhad, Khamasa, Jamalpur, Vejalpur, Dariyapur, Khanpur, Vatva, Chandkheda and Nikol localities, she said.

Most of the cases in the state have been reported in five districts -- Ahmedabad (622), Vadodara (142), Surat (140), Rajkot (28) and Bhavnagar (26).

On Friday Gujarat recieved 24,000 COVID-19 Rapid Testing Kits from Delhi, said Ravi, adding that another lot of testing kits would arrive in the next two-three days.