india

Updated: Apr 20, 2020 06:12 IST

Gujarat on Sunday reported 367 new coronavirus disease cases, taking the total number of cases in the state to 1,743. The state has become the third most affected in the country after Maharashtra, which has 3,648 cases and Delhi which has 1,893 cases.

The death toll in Gujarat stands at 63, after 10 deaths were reported on Sunday.

Jayanti Ravi, principal secretary, health and family welfare, attributed the overnight spurt in cases to a large number of test results sent back from government and private laboratories late on Saturday.

“We have got 29,104 people tested, of which 27361 tests were negative. We were expecting the increase as many of those tested had symptoms and we are well prepared to deal with the situation,” she said.

“Compared to the national average of 269 tests per million, we are conducting 447.8. More tests would result in identification of more positive cases quickly,” the principal secretary said.

“On Sunday, 367 new positive cases were found. Ten deaths were reported from different regions,” Ravi said. She said that as many as 18,450 people are currently under quarantine, of which 2,681 are at government facilities and 231 in private.

According to the data released by Gujarat’s health department, about two-thirds of the total cases in the state were reported from the capital, Ahmedabad, which has emerged as a Covid-19 hotspot city.

A statement by the health department said that of 1743 total cases, 1632 patients were stable and only 14 were on ventilator support. The government hospitals in the state have 1,061 ventilators and there are 1,700 ventilators in private hospitals, the statement said.

The government also said a special 1,200 bed hospital in Ahmedabad has earmarked for Covid-19, a government statement said.

The data showed that Covid-19 has now spread to 29 of the 33 districts in the state, which last month was restricted to five.

Meanwhile, the state government has decided to allow factories in municipal corporation and town council areas to function from Monday.

According to officials familiar with the matter, at a meeting chaired by chief minister Vijay Rupani, it was also decided that that these units would arrange accommodation facilities for the workers within the factory premises and ensure that the workers don’t have to travel much.

Director General of Police, Gujarat, Shivanand Jha said necessary measures are being taken by the administration to prevent the transmission of corona virus in the state.

“Strict vigil is kept to ensure that the lockdown orders are not violated,” Jha said.