Amid prevalent chaos and uncertainty over access to the essential services and commodities during the lockdown, we bring you the latest updates from your city.
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ANI update at 10.00pm: 3 Army personnel tested positive for coronavirus in Baroda, Gujarat. As per initial findings, an ATM booth seems to be the common source as they all had withdrawn money from it on same day.Their 28 close contacts have been quarantined by the force as per protocol: Indian Army Sources
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Update at 9.45pm:Coronavirus in Gujarat: Curfew in Ahmedabad, Surat and Rajkot to be lifted from Friday
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PTI update at 9.15pm: The number of coronavirus cases in Gujarat reached 2,624 on Thursday after 217 new cases were reported since previous night, a senior official said.
151 cases were reported in Ahmedabad alone, followed by Surat (41), Vadodara (7) and Bharuch (5) besides other parts of the state. With nine more deaths, the death toll due to the pandemic went up to 112, said Principal Secretary, Health, Jayanti Ravi.
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Update at 8.15pm: A coronavirus patient from Padra taluka of Vadodara district and his 6 relatives were booked at Vadu police station for travelling back to their native place from Surat during lockdown.
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Update at 7.45pm: 217 new coronavirus cases reported in Gujarat
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ANI update at 6.00pm: Vadodara: 45 people who had tested positive for coronavirus, were discharged today from Ebrahim Bawany Industrial Training Institute quarantine center, after recovering
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PTI update at 5.00pm: The Gujarat government on Thursday said export-oriented industrial units located in cities across the state can resume operations if they have received export orders. But, the industrial units situated in coronavirus containment zones will not get such relief, secretary in the Chief Minister's Office, Ashwani Kumar, said.
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Update at 4.20pm: A nurse of Rajkot railway hospital is making face shield after duty hours to provide it to the people who are working as corona warriors outside the hospital. This face shield covers the whole face.
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PTI update at 3.30pm: As many as 3,000 coronavirus tests are being conducted in Gujarat everyday and there is no plan to reduce it, a senior official said on Thursday while dismissing rumours that the state government has reduced COVID-19 testing.
*After Gujarat government announced health insurance cover for police personnel, health workers and fair price shop owners and their workers, chemists have demanded the same saying they too are at risk due to the pandemic.
*To reduce the risk of spread of Covid-19 infection from the city to the outlying rural areas in Ahmedabad district, the district panchayat has launched a mobile van, which will collect samples from villages and bring them for testing to BJ Medical College.
*Women of self help groups (SHGs) across Gujarat have made over 13 lakh masks during the lockdown, of which over 12 lakh have already been distributed among cops, sanitation workers and other frontline staff involved in battling the Covid-19 pandemic.
*Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation screened some 4,677 persons providing essential services and detected seven cases of Covic-19, as part of its drive to eliminate super spreaders. Potential super spreaders are those who are providing essential services and come in contact with large numbers of people.
*Update at 1.32pm: There is no plan to decrease the number of tests; we are conducting maximum tests possible. Deaths in Gujarat primarily due to co-morbidity, says principal secretary Jayanti Ravi.
*A day after Gujarat government allowed three private hospitals in Ahmedabad — HCG, Sterling Hospital on Sindhu Bhavan Road, and Narayana Multispeciality Hospital — to admit Covid-19 patients, the hospitals came under criticism for the reportedly high prices for treatment.
*The majority of chemists in Ahmedabad will now restrict their store timings, staying open from 9am to 5pm only. The Ahmedabad Chemists’ Association (ACA) took this decision on Tuesday, citing health risks to chemists and medical store owners.
*Guru Gobindsingh Hospital in Jamnagar has become the first state-run hospital in Gujarat to design and manufacture personal protection equipment (PPE) for its staff.
*As the Covid-19 pandemic rages around, a Ahmedabad based non-government organization (NGO) has been providing meals to nearly 5,000 migrants every day.
*Update at 10.00am: A total of 5,00542 samples from 4,85,172 individuals have been tested as on April 23, 2020, 9am. 21,797 samples have been confirmed positive, says Indian Council of Medical Research (ANI)
*Update at 9.43am: Death toll due to Covid-19 climbs to 681 in India; number of cases rise to 21,393: Union health ministry (PTI)
*The baby girl of a Covid-19 positive mother has tested negative for the virus. The baby was delivered on Monday and her samples sent for testing soon after.
*An 18-month-old boy became the youngest patient in Gujarat to survive the Covid-19 infection and recover completely. Ayan Shaikh, was discharged from Bhavnagar’s Sir T Hospital on Wednesday.
*On Wednesday, Gujarat recorded 13 Covid deaths, taking the toll to 103. Gujarat became second state after Maharashtra to cross the death toll of 100 due to the pandemic in India.
*Gujarat has recorded about 15% of country’s total deaths. Out of the 13 deaths, nine were recorded from Ahmedabad alone – which is country’s Covid-19 hotspot – while three were from Vadodara and one from Valsad.
*At the onset of the Covid-19 outbreak here, Gujarat government sought help from private medical practitioners to report all cases of influenza-like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) to the health department. This was also made mandatory for the government-run clinics
*On Wednesday, Gujarat DGP Shivanand Jha said that people shouldn’t gather during the holy month of Ramzan, either to pray or for breaking fast.
*Ahmedabad police on Tuesday booked four persons including a 78-year-old man for allegedly not maintaining safe distance inside a mosque in Paldi when offering namaz (prayers) there.