76 new COVID-19 cases found in Gujarat; death toll up to 17

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76 new COVID-19 cases found in Gujarat; death toll up to 17
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Ahmedabad, Apr 9 () With a record 76 new cases,the highest so far in a single day, the total number ofcoronavirus infections in Gujarat shot up to 262 on Thursday,while the death toll rose to 17 with the addition of one morefatality, said officials.

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All the new cases were recorded during the last 24hours, they said.

One person also died during this period, taking thedeath toll 17, said Principal Secretary, Health, Jayanti Ravi.

Of the total 1,975 samples tested during the last 24hours, 76 came positive for the virus, she added.

Out of these 76 new cases, as many as 58 were fromAhmedabad alone, followed by Patan (7), Vadodara (4),Surat(2), Rajkot (2) and one case each from Dahod, Anand andChhotaudepur districts.

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She asked common citizens not to panic over the spikein confirmed cases, saying the numbers are increasing due to apolicy of aggressive testing undertaken by the government.

The sudden spike in new cases, particularly inAhmedabad, was due to an intensive surveillance being carriedout in areas which have been declared as coronavirus'hotspots' in Ahmedabad and other major cities of Gujarat,said Ravi.

She opined that cases will rise in the days to come asmore cases related to the Nizamuddin gathering would emerge inthe surveillance and testing exercise being carried out in thewalled city area and other hotspots in Ahmedabad.

"We had a fair idea from the beginning that caseswould rise due to the Tablighi Jamaat-related cases which weredetected earlier.

"We knew that once we start intensive surveillance andtesting in the Nizamuddin incident related hotspots, morecases would emerge.

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"We want cases to come up, so that we can eliminatethe infection completely" Ravi told reporters in Gandhinagar.

Till now, 12 cases related to the Nizamuddin eventheld last month, a key source of the COVID-19 spread, havebeen reported in Gujarat, all in Ahmedabad, officials had saidearlier.

The major hotspots in Ahmedabad, from where most ofthe cases were detected on Thursday, are Danilimada, Astodiaand Ghodasar.

Surat city has to hotspots - Rander and Adajan Patiya.

Out of the 262 cases reported so far, the highest, -142 - were in Ahmedabad, followed by Surat (24), Vadodara(22), Bhavnagar (18), Gandhinagar (13), Rajkot (13), Patan(12), Porbandar (3), two each in Kutch, Mehsana, Gir Somnath,Chhotaudepur and Anand.

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One case each has been recorded in Panchmahal,Jamnagar, Morbi, Sabarkantha and Dahod.

A 48-year-old man succumbed to coronavirus inAhmedabad during the last 24 hours, taking the death toll inGujarat to 17, she said.

Till now, 26 persons have also recovered from thedeadly infection and discharged from hosptials. This includeda 27-year-old man who was discharged from Ahmedabad civilhospital on Wednesday. PJT PDGKRSY RSY
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