AHMEDABAD: After 26 days, Gujarat got a reason to heave a sigh of relief as 9,995 new Covid-19 cases were recorded in the state on Friday. This is the lowest daily tally in 27 days. On April 17, the state had recorded 9,541 cases. Gujarat recorded104 deaths on Friday compared to 97 on April17.
While it may be too early to cheer, state officials said it was definitely a reason to get relieved as the figures suggest that the state may have tided over the peak of the second wave after all.
The analysis of Covid cases however presented a contrasting picture for the cities and rest of Gujarat – the eight municipal corporation areas in the past 10 days recorded 61,346 positive cases, which were 31.5% down from 89,543 cases recorded in its previous 10 days (April 25-May 4). During the same period, the rest of Gujarat reported a rise of 8.8% in cases – from 49,192 to 53,530 cases.
For Ahmedabad city, it was 29-day lowest daily tally at 2,764, whereas for Surat, it was 37-day lowest.
Mortality however has remained constant for the cities and state at large in the past 10 days.
At 1.17 lakh active cases, it was an 18-day low for the state. Dr Kirit Gadhvi, president of Ahmedabad Medical Association (AMA), said that there is definite dip in the calls the citybased doctors are receiving for the beds, oxygen and medicines. “But there’s still scarcity of the ICU and ventilator beds across the city. It is time to build on the resources. We cannot afford any laxity,” he said.
Dr Bharat Gadhvi, president of Ahmedabad Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association (AHNA), said that the association has written to the Gujarat CM not to extend any relaxations in the current restrictions. “With great efforts we have come out of one of the worst phases of the pandemic. It would sound like the death knell of the healthcare system if the state is again faced with the same burden of daily cases,” he said.
Dr Dhiren Mehta, a citybased physician, said that the daily OPDs at various clinics for the fever and other Covid-19 symptoms have gone down. “However, every fever case should be investigated and treated. We must not let our guards down. Identifying cases quickly and isolating them has remained a sure-shot method to prevent the spread,” he said.
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