Gujarat ranks second in coronavirus cases as it fails to curb the spread

COVID-19 predicament in Gujarat is alarming, the government and health officials are encountering huge criticism for their failure to contain the spread of the deadly virus.

Ahmedabad: Despite being the second worst-affected state nearing 9,000 mark of corona cases, the state officials are harping on the fact that the state has succeeded in containing the spread of the deadly virus.

The tally in the state, as per the Ministry of Health, stands at 8903. While 537 people have died due to the coronavirus disease, Gujarat has seen 3246 recoveries so far.

The situation in Gujarat is alarming and the government and health department is facing criticism for their failure to defeat the spread of coronavirus, a source said.

Further, a team of doctors from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) took stock of the situation and provided necessary guidelines to defeat the pandemic. According to the reports, there were only 14 coronavirus cases in Gujarat on March 21, 2020. These included four in Ahmedabad, one in rural Ahmedabad, three each in Vadodara and Surat, 1 each in Rajkot, Gandhinagar and Kutch.

Gujarat health secretary Jayanti Ravi said that there has been an increase in the number of coronavirus cases in the state but the recovery rate also has gone up. While the recovery ratio at the national level is 31.7, in Gujarat is 36.5, which is an improvement. "At present, 30 patients are on ventilators. Corona patients are also being given homoeopathy medicines and Ayurvedic potions as well as herbal tea and steam inhalation. This has contributed to their recovery," Jayanti Ravi stated.

Members of the Tablighi Jamaat who returned to Gujarat are also being held accused of spreading the deadly virus in the state, a health official added. After Ahmedabad, the infection spread out to Surat, Rajkot, Vadodara, Bhavnagar, Bhuj among other towns.

After Ahmedabad municipal commissioner Vijay Nehra was placed in quarantine for 14 days as he had come in contact with a coronavirus positive person, his charge was given to Mukesh Kumar of the Gujarat Maritime Board.

According to official figures, as many as 264 special trains for migrant workers were started from Gujarat. According to the reports, a total of 3,17,000 migrant workers left for their respective home states.

On the other hand, the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council’s regional chairman Dinesh Nawadia told ETV Bharat that 8 units have started working in the Surat Special Economic Zone. As many as 10 shipments for exports of finished diamonds have been dispatched from the Surat Diamond Bourse.

With the air connectivity having been restored with Hong Kong, Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council has requested the Surat district collector to get the release of parcels of rough diamonds trapped at the Bombay Diamond Bourse. At present, the diamond traders are sending diamond jewellery to Mumbai by chartered flights following receipt of a big order.