The total number of Covid-19 cases in Gujarat soared to 7,796 as of Sunday morning, the Union health ministry said in its update. Ahmedabad alone reported 280 new cases on Saturday, taking the case count to 5,540, a health department official was quoted as saying by PTI.
As the number of cases continue to rise in Gujarat, the Union health ministry on Saturday said a central team, comprising a senior official from the MoHFW, a joint secretary level nodal officer and a public health expert, will be deployed in the state. The central teams are also being sent to nine other states which have seen as huge number of coronavirus cases, the ministry said in a statement.
AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria and Dr Manish Soneja of AIIMS Department of Medicine visited a hospital in Ahmedabad on Saturday and interacted with doctors.
Guleria said the stigma attached to coronavirus was contributing to the high mortality rate as people delay getting examined for fear of being quarantined and stigmatised as infection carrier, PTI reported.
He added that it was important to destigmatise coronavirus so that people get treated in time. Guleria also said that it was important to protect the elderly and those with comorbid conditions from getting infected.
A doctor who was present in the meeting with the AIIMS Director told Ahmedabad Mirror that Guleria advised healthcare workers be tested at the earliest.
Meanwhile, Ahmedabad Municipal Commissioner Vijay Nehra said he has tested negative for Covid-19, The Indian Express reported. Nehra was sent on a two-week home quarantine last week after coming in contact with two persons who later tested positive. Senior IAS officer from Gandhinagar Mukesh Kumar was made the Commissioner in-charge of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, The Hindu had said.
(With PTI inputs)