Gujarat reports 1,961 COVID-19 cases, Shab-e-Barat festivities banned

AHMEDABAD: Gujarat reported 1,961 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, its highest single-day rise since the pandemic began last year which took the tally to 2,94,130, the health department said here.

Since March 22, the state is witnessing a record rise in cases every day.

On Wednesday the state had recorded 1,790 new cases, the highest one-day rise till then.

As many as seven patients died on Thursday -- four in Surat, two in Mahisagar and one in Ahmedabad -- taking the COVID-19 death toll to 4,473, the department said.

With 1,405 patients getting discharged, the number of recovered cases increased to 2,80,285.

Recovery rate in the state stands at 95.29 per cent.

There are now 9,372 active cases in the state with 81 patients being critical.

Surat and Ahmedabad together accounted for 60 per cent of new COVID-19 cases reported on Thursday.

Surat reported 628 new cases, followed by Ahmedabad with 558 cases, Vadodara 184, Rajkot 168, Jamnagar 44, Gandhinagar 38, Bhavnagar 31, Narmada 27, Patan 24, Banaskantha, Dahod and Kutch 19 each, Kheda and Mehsana 18, Amreli, Anand and Surendranagar 16 each.

As many as 1,90,720 persons received coronavirus vaccine shots on Thursday.

A total of 44,84,319 beneficiaries have been administered COVID-19 vaccines so far in the state, of which 6,21,158 have received the second dose, the department said.

The Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu recorded 31 new coronavirus cases, increasing its tally to 35,087, while with four recoveries, the number of discharged patients rose to 3,413.

There are now 93 active cases in the UT and two fatalities have been reported so far.

Gujarat's COVID-19 figures are as follows: Positive cases 2,94,130, new cases 1,961, death toll 4,473, discharged 2,80,285, active cases 9,372, people tested so far - figures not released.

The state on Thursday banned people from gathering in mosques and other places for Shab-e-Barat that will be observed on March 28.

In a notification, the Gujarat home department said on the occasion of Shab-e-Barat, or the night of forgiveness, Muslims gather in large numbers in mosques to offer prayers in order to to seek forgiveness on behalf of the deceased and visit graves of their loved ones.

"There has been a recent increase in the number of coronavirus cases.

In such a situation, cases are likely to grow due to large gatherings.

It is important people do not gather in mosques and other places for Shab-e-Barat and COVID-19 guidelines issued by state and Central governments are strictly followed and social distancing maintained," said the notification.