With six deaths caused by COVID-19 out of the 69 cases of infection reported from the State, Gujarat is apparently witnessing the highest fatality rate in the country.
As per the State Health Department’s morning briefing on Monday, a 45-year-old female patient died of COVID-19, taking the total number of casualties to six in the State. She died in Bhavnagar, 180 km from Ahmedabad, where one person had already succumbed to the contagious disease.
Interactive map of confirmed coronavirus cases in India
So far, three persons have succumbed to the disease in Ahmedabad, two in Bhavnagar and one in Surat. In Bhavnagar, of six persons found positive for COVID-19, two have already died.
Though the fatality rate appears high in Gujarat, officials of the Health Department are stressing on the fact that most of the patients who succumbed had co-morbid conditions and were suffering from multiple ailments like diabetes, which is a common condition in the State.
However, medical experts attribute multiple factors for the higher fatality rate, besides co-morbid conditions.
Watch | COVID-19: Dos and don'ts from the Health Ministry
Key factors
“Co-morbid conditions may be prevalent and they contribute to higher fatality rate to some extent but other factors like late diagnosis are equally important,” said a top infectious disease expert from Ahmedabad.
He and other private doctors, particularly those dealing with infectious diseases, believe that the State authorities should go for higher numbers of testing to ascertain the extent of epidemic in the public.
So far, 1,206 people have been tested as per the State Health Department’s figures as on Sunday evening.
Watch | Coronavirus: Can masks protect you?
The State government officials insist that they are testing the suspected persons as per the protocols of Indian Council of Medical Research.
