AHMEDABAD: Gujarat in 24 hours ending 5 pm on Thursday added 573 new Covid-19 cases. With the discharge of 102 patients, the state added 471 active cases in a day, taking the tally to 2,371.
It’s the highest since July 5 as the state’s tally went past 2,000-mark after nearly six months. Gujarat did not record any new case of Omicron variant on Thursday officials.
In contrast to Covid cases rising exponentially in the past two days which saw 93% and 39% rise on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively, the pace of rise in daily cases slowed down to 4.5% in the state which had recorded 548 cases on Wednesday. One death each of active patients was recorded in Rajkot city and Aravalli.
State health minister Rushikesh Patel told media on Thursday that VGGIS 2022 would take place amid adequate screening and Covid protocols, putting an end to the speculation that the mega business summit may go virtual in the light of the alarming rise in Covid cases in the state. “The participants will be allowed after a negative RT-PCR test and full vaccination certificate,” he told the media.
When questioned on protocols such as isolation for seven days for those coming from abroad, the minister claimed that some of the rules won’t apply to the delegates. “We have referred this matter to the central government as well,” said Patel.
The minister added that there would be a major vaccination drive from January 3 to 9 to cover the teenagers eligible for jabs. He earlier said that the entry to the government offices would be allowed for only those who are fully vaccinated. Patel said that the state has adequate resources to tackle the rise in cases.
Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel on Thursday convened a meeting in Ahmedabad with senior officials to review the situation in the city and measures to control it. Meanwhile, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) members demanded more transparency in the data about the pandemic shared with the citizens including tests conducted and positivity rate.
