Fifty-four new patients of COVID-19 in Gujarat; state count rises to 432
Gujarat has reported as many as 54 new positive cases of coronavirus, taking the total in the state to 432, an official said. As on Friday, the number of coronavirus positive cases in the state were 378, with a rise of 116 new cases in 24 hours since the previous tally. Meanwhile, the death toll due to COVID-19 in Gujarat has reached 19 after two more coronavirus positive patients succumbed to the infection, Principal Secretary (Health), Jayanti Ravi, said.
This is for the first time that such a large number of positive cases have surfaced in a single day in the state.
Ravi, however, urged people not to panic as almost all the cases that surfaced in the last 24 hours are from the hotspots and emerged as part of aggressive testing strategy.
IAS officer Vinod Rao, who serves as primary education secretary and is posted in Gandhinagar, has been camping in Vadodara to oversee the screening and testing operation.
He said coronavirus cases are rising because of a proactive approach by the administration.
"The entire Nagarwada, having a population of 5,000, has been already sealed and declared a red zone. Out of 400 samples collected from the area, 30 came positive during the last two-three days, taking the total to 39.
"This (rise in cases) happened because of our targeted effort and mass screening in the area. We suspect situation may escalate in future," said Rao, in-charge secretary of Vadodara.
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