The state also saw a higher than usual number of patients being discharge, at 535, taking the cumulative discharged tally in the state to nearly 18,700. (Representational)
Ahmedabad and Surat districts on Saturday reported 306 and 103 Covid-19 cases, respectively, of the total 536 new cases in Gujarat. The cases were reported mainly in urban areas, provoking the municipal corporations to identify new clusters and declare them as micro containment zones.
The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) micro-contained several popular residential apartments and societies, predominantly in the west zone. The Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) issued closure notices to three major diamond firms in Katargam zone, a diamond hub which has reported a fourth of the city’s total cases. Several other diamond firms were also placed under micro containment.
The AMC revised its list of micro containment zones and placed over 4,500 additional households with a population of approximately 19,000 persons under containment. On the other hand, a population of over 47,800 persons across 9,950 households from areas in the walled city, north, south and eastern zones, which had been under containment for over four weeks, were freed of the demarcation.
Among the 30 new spots to be notified as micro containment areas in Ahmedabad, the maximum, 10, were in the west zone including areas in Sabarmati, Chandkheda, Naranpura, Ranip and Nava Vadaj. Northwest and southwest zones added nine more micro containment areas including in Vejalpur, Bodakdev, Thaltej and Jodhpur. These included residential societies such as Galaxy Apartment and Satellite Centre in Bodakdev, where nearly 380 households with an approximate population of over 1,400 persons have been contained, and another 1,200 persons contained in Sachin Tower in Jodhpur. Two floors in a single block of Malabar County in Chandlodia and one entire block in Shrinandnagar of Vejalpur, too, were included under micro containment zones.
In the once complete hotspots of central and south zones, only three areas were declared as micro containment zones. None of them are in the walled city area, rather in the areas of Vatva, Asarwa and Shahibaug. North and east zones added another eight areas, including hutments such as Kumbhaji ni Chali and two areas in Chharanagar in Kubernagar ward.
After the revised list eliminated several households from being in containment, Jamalpur, Shahpur, Dariapur, Khadia, Bapunagar, Danilimda, Behrampura and Isanpur areas will see relaxations.
The six micro containment areas to maintain status quo include the municipal labour quarter in India Colony in the north zone — where cases were reported as early as in April — and two areas in Amraiwadi in the east zone. Naranpura and Sabarmati in the west zone and Maktampura in the southwest zone are also to be included. The six areas will continue to contain more than 1,600 households and an approximate population of over 6,200 persons.
The now operational 36 micro containment zones will imply movement restrictions on a total of up to 6,100 households with an approximate population of over 25,200 persons.
Meanwhile, the addition of 536 cases in Gujarat on Saturday took the total to nearly 26,800 cases. Ahmedabad’s death toll crossed 1,300 with 16 deaths reported on Saturday. which was this week’s lowest figure for the district. Surat reported over a 100 cases for the first time, even as four others succumbed to the infection here. With this, Surat has now reported more than 3,000 cases, nearly 750 patients currently undergoing treatment.
The state also saw a higher than usual number of patients being discharge, at 535, taking the cumulative discharged tally in the state to nearly 18,700.