Ahmedabad, beware of super spreaders

The biggest threat of transmission of the coronavirus comes from people who interact with a large number of people on a daily basis, making them potential super spreaders of the virus. Unfortunately, the number of such people is constantly on the rise. 23 more super spreaders were identified on Monday.

Of the 23 new super spreaders, 11 are vegetable vendors, 8 working in kirana stores and 4 others. As Of the 18 identified on Sunday, 10 are in Naranpura (west zone) and four in Gota (north-west). Of the 11 working in kirana stores who tested positive, seven are from Naranpura, while three are from Gomtipur and one from Chandkheda. Four milk vendors tested positive-2 each from Gota and Naranpura. The remaining three are vegetables vendors-2 in Gota and one in Naranpura. At least 40 super spreaders have tested positive till now, as per daily data provided by the AMC in past few days.



197 new cases in city

Ahmedabad on Monday reported 197 new cases, taking the total to 2,364 cases so far. Of the five deaths reported during the day, two had co-morbidities while the remaining had no other ailment.

The maximum were seen in Asarwa (31), followed by Jamalpur (15). Both are in central zone. Besides these, Gomtipur reported 10 cases, Bhadra 1, Shah-e-Alam 6, Behrampura and Maninagar 5 each, Astodia 3, B apunagar 9, Naranpura 13, Odhav 1, Gheekanta 4, Nirnaynagar 1, Vastrapur 1, Nikol 1, Saraspur 3, Paldi 3, Sabarmati 1, Saijpur 4, Isanpur 3, Gol Limda 1, Vadaj 3, Kubernagar 1, Khokhra 1, Ghodasar 2, Gota 1, SVP 1, Vejalpur 1, Delhi Darwaja 1, Kalupur 4, Ghatlodia 4, Shahpur 3, Dariapur 1, Narol 2, Raikhad 5, Sarangpur 1, Rakhial 3, Sarkhej 1, Sardarnagar 1, Vatva 4, Mirzapur 2, Danilimda 5, Naroda 3, Vastral 1, Raipur 4, Vasna and Ranip 2 each.



Strict rules after May 3 too: Vijay Nehra

Cautioning people against becoming negligent with the lockdown likely to be lifted on May 3, AMC commissioner Vijay Nehra said, "Because of our efforts, the rate of increase in new cases has come down to 10%. By May 3, we have to bring this rated down to 5-6%. Hence it is important for people to change their earlier habits and follow rules once lockdown is lifted. Wearing masks will be mandatory. For the coming few months, people will have to keep their nose and mouth covered when they are out. They must wash their hands properly immediately after returning home. Shopkeepers will have to keep sanitisers handy for customers. They should start preparing from now itself." He urged people to travel alone on two-wheelers and maximum two people to move in cars while maintaining proper distance. He added that to prevent people from spitting in public, the corporation was mulling increasing the existing fine.

Shops opened without nod to face police action

Gujarat DGP Shivanand Jha said that pplice would take action against not just owners of shops that opened without permission but also the visitors. The action would be taken especially against pan shops, tea vendors, snack shops, restaurants and hair cutting salons that have to be remain closed.

875 vehicles in A'bad seized for flouting rule

Ahmedabad city police in a single day seized 875 vehicles and collected nearly Rs 93,000 in fine. City police commissioner Ashish Bhatia said, "These are vehicles where there were more than one person on two-wheelers and more than two in four wheeler." Total eight offences were registered by cybercrime cell. On Sunday, 10 Facebook posts and four Twitter posts have been deleted by the police department.

247 new cases, 11 deaths reported in State

Gujarat reported 247 new cases of Covid-19, said officials of the health department on Monday. The total in state is 3,548 now. Currently, 30 of 33 districts in the state are affected. Death toll reached 162 with 11 more deaths.

Besides the 197 new cases in Ahmedabad, 30 were in Surat, 6 in Vadodara and 5 in Gandhinagar. Panchmahals reported 3 cases, Anand 2. Botad, Dangs, Jamnagar and Rajkot reported one case each.



Five of the 11 who died were from Ahmedabad, four from Surat and one each from Vadodara and Banaskantha. While seven deceased had co-morbidities, four did not have any other underlying ailments. A total of 81 patients were discharged from various hospitals on Monday-72 from Ahmedabad, 4 from Surat, and one each from Anand, Bhavnagar, Morbi, Narmada and Rajkot.

Talking about the deaths, Principal Health Secretary Jayanti Ravi said, "The chief minister recently had a meeting with industry leaders and it was discussed at different platforms that our discharge rate is higher and at the same time death rate too is higher. There are possibilities that the coronavirus in Gujarat is of L strain, unlike S strain in other states like Kerala, which may be resulting in more deaths. Our teams are also working on the same."

(Inputs from Brendan Dabhi and Alok Brahmbhatt)

LG Hospital to open today with minimum staff

LG Hospital, which had been closed for OPD and emergency services for a few days, will reopen on Tuesday morning with restricted staff strength and only a few departments remaining operational. In a late night decision on April 21, LG Hospital had been asked by the Municipal Commissioner to suspend operations by the till April 27.

Dr Sanjay Tripathi, in-charge Medical Superintendent of the Hospital said, “While our orthopaedic department will remain closed as many doctors and staff from there are Covid-19 positive, we will begin opening up a few departments at a time as well as OPD.” Hospital authorities said that departments of gynaecology, paediatrics, medicine and surgery would open on Tuesday with minimum staff. As a preventive measure, all health workers would be required to wear complete PPE in spite of the hospital being a non-Covid one.

(By Brendan Dabhi)

Photos: Malls, railway stations in Ahmedabad deserted as Gujarat takes cautious steps to fight coronavirus

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Ahmedabad takes precautions in light of COVID19

As tension mounts in the country due to the coronavirus pandemic, Amdavadis made sure to take every precaution necessary to keep themselves safe from the contagious virus. In Ahmedabad, malls and railway stations wore a deserted look as people refrained from stepping out of their houses and avoided unnecessary travel. Those who had to step out protected themselves with masks and maintained a safe distance to avoid coming in direct contact with others. On Tuesday evening, people gathered at SG Road, Ahmedabad to light a holy fire and offered special prayers for the coronavirus victims.

Gujarat is one of those states in India which has not reported a COVID-19 case so far. As a precautionary measure, CM Vijay Rupani announced that the Statue of Unity will remain closed for visitors until March 25. He also appealed to citizens to maintain vigil and follow the government’s guidelines to ensure that coronavirus does not spread in the state.

So far, India has reported 147 positive cases of coronavirus with three deaths. Malls, theatres, schools, gyms and other public places have been shut down at various states and union territories including Maharashtra, Delhi, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala and Puducherry.
Photo: AFP

Ahmedabad takes precautions in light of COVID-19

Ahmedabad takes precautions in light of COVID-19

Ahmedabad takes precautions in light of COVID-19

Ahmedabad takes precautions in light of COVID-19

Ahmedabad takes precautions in light of COVID-19