COVID-19 cases cross 5,000-mark in Guj; 26 deaths in one day

The number of COVID-19 cases crossed the 5,000-mark in Gujarat with 333 more people testing positive while the overall death toll rose by 26, with Ahmedabad alone accounting for the highest single-day fatalities at 20, to 262, a Health department official said.

The total number of COVID-19 cases in the state now stands at 5,054, including 250 new detections in Ahmedabad.

Gujarat is now going for pool testing to augment its capacity, the official said.

"With 160 more people discharged on Saturday, the number of the people recovered from the viral infection has gone up to 896," said Principal Secretary (Health) Jayanti Ravi.

At 63, the highest number of the people discharged were from Ahmedabad, the bureaucrat said.

She said that 17 of the total 26 deceased were suffering from some or the other underlying health conditions like diabetes, hypertension, kidney, heart and liver diseases, mental illness, HIV etc.

A total of ten of the deceased were suffering from multiple comorbidities, she said.

"While 20 of the 26 patients died in hospitals in Ahmedabad, three died in Vadodara, two in Surat and one in Anand," Ravi said.

While Ahmedabad reported 250 of the 333 new coronavirus positive cases, Vadodara and Surat reported 17 cases each, taking the total number of patients in the three districts to 3,543, 325, and 661, respectively.

Among other districts that reported new cases are: Gandhinagar (18), Bhavnagar (6), Botad (6), Dahod (1), Kheda (3), Navsari (2), Panchmahal (1), Patan (3), Tapi (1), Valsad (1), Mahisagar (6), and Chhota Udepur (1), Ravi said.

A total 160 patients were discharged from hospitals from 12 districts.

Apart from Ahmedabad (63), 40 people were discharged in Vadodara, 32 in Surat, 10 in Banaskantha, 6 in Aravalli.

"Gujarat has so far conducted 74,116 tests," Ravi said.

Apart from Ahmedabad, Surat and Vadodara, the higher number of cases were also reported from Rajkot (58), Bhavnagar (53), Anand (74), Bharuch (27), Gandhinagar (67), Banaskantha (29), Panchmahal (38), and Botad (270).

Gujarat COVID-19 figures are as follows: Positive cases 5,054, new cases 333, deaths 262, discharge 896, active cases 3,896; people tested so far 74,116.