46 new coronavirus cases surface in Gujarat, total tops 300

(Eds: Updates with details, quotes)

Ahmedabad, Apr 10 () The number of coronaviruspositive patients in Gujarat has gone up to 308 following thedetection of 46 new cases, one of them a doctor, while thedeath toll increased to 19, officials said on Friday.

With two more deaths reported during the last 12hours, the toll due to coronavirus in Gujarat has reached 19,they said.

Out of the 46 new cases reported during the period,17 were from the Nagarwada area of Vadodara city, followed byAhmedabad (11), Rajkot (5), Bharuch (4), Bhavnagar (4), twoeach from Patan and Kutch, while one case was reported fromGandhinagar, said Principal Secretary, Health, Jayanti Ravi.

Those who died during the last 12 hours were a 40-year-old man from Ahmedabad and an 81-year-old man fromGandhinagar, said Ravi.

While the patient from Ahmedabad was suffering from akidney ailment and died at Ahmedabad civil hospital, theelderly man, who contracted the virus from a close contact,died in Gandhinagar civil hospital, she said.

Those who tested positive included a doctor fromAhmedabad who was engaged in collection of samples forcoronavirus testing, she told reporters in Gandhinagar.

All the four new cases in Bharuch were from Amodtaluka, where the police have been roped in to find out theirtravel history and possible source of infection, she said.

After the detection of 17 new cases in Nagarwada, thecount of COVID-19 patients in Vadodara gone up to to 39.

IAS officer Vinod Rao, who serves as primary educationsecretary and is posted in Gandhinagar, has been camping inVadodara to oversee the screening and testing operation.

He said coronavirus cases are rising because of aproactive approach by the administration.

"The entire Nagarwada, having a population of 5,000,has been already sealed and declared a red zone. Out of 400samples collected from the area, 30 came positive during thelast two-three days, taking the total to 39.

"This (rise in cases) happened because of our targetedeffort and mass screening in the area. We suspect situationmay escalate in future," said Rao, in-charge secretary ofVadodara.

Out of the total 308 cases reported so far, Ahmedabadhas recorded the highest - 153 - followed by Vadodara (39),Surat (24), Bhavnagar (22), Rajkot(18), 14 each in Gandhinagarand Patan, Bharuch (4), Kutch (4), Porbandar (3), two each inMehsana, Gir-Somnath, Chhotaudepur, and Anand; and one each inPanchmahal, Jamnagar, Morbi, Sabarkantha and Dahod.

Also, since Thursday, four more persons weredischarged from hospitals following their recovery from thedisease, taking the number of such cases to 30 till date, saidRavi. PJT PDRSY RSY