The state recorded 573 new Covid cases and two deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the state’s active cases tally to 2,379 and the cumulative number of deaths since the start of the pandemic to 10,118. No case of Omicron variant was recorded on Thursday.
Gujarat had 548 cases, one death and 19 Omicron infections yesterday. The state has added over 1,000 cases in just 48 hours. No case of Omicron variant was recorded on Thursday.
Ahmedabad remained the biggest contributor with 259 cases – a marginal drop from yesterday’s 265 cases. Other major contributors include Surat (94), Vadodara (41), Rajkot (18), and Gandhinagar (16). Rajkot and Arvalli recorded one death each, the office of state health minister stated.
Meanwhile, the state health minister Rushikesh Patel in a press conference said the Gujarat government has so far arranged a total of 1,10,000 beds to meet the possible Covid third wave. Of the designated beds, 15,900 are ICU beds, while 1,800 are beds with ventilator support. Besides this, the state is prepared to set-up 300 to 1,500 bed Covid-designated hospital in any city or district when the need arises, the health minister added.
“We have sufficient quantity of medicines needed for Covid-19,” the health minister said.
The minister also said they have reserved 10-20 percent beds for children in Covid hospitals across the state.
On Omicron front, Patel said the state has been hospitalizing Omicron patients as part of the precautionary measure. “They have mild symptoms,” Patel said. Gujarat, as of Thursday, has 53 active patients of Omicron variant.
The health minister also informed of extension of the night curfew (between 11 am to 5 am) till January 7, 2022.
A day before, the Union Home Minister Amit Shah had warned the Gujarat government against the rapid spread of the Covid-19 virus and had asked the state machinery to be more vigilant. “Once again coronavirus has changed its form and is slowly coming before us. This is the time when municipal corporations, municipalities, district panchayats and the state government need to be more vigilant,” Shah had said in a virtual address at an event organised by Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation (GMC).
Scenario Across India
India has recorded 961 cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus across 22 states and UTs so far out of which 320 people have recovered or migrated, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday.
With 13,154 people testing positive for coronavirus infection in a day, India’s total tally of Covid-19 cases rose to 3,48,22,040, while the active cases increased to 82,402, according to the Union health ministry data. The number of deaths climbed to 4,80,860 with 268 fresh fatalities, the data stated.
