COVID-19: Ahmedabad district worst hit in Gujarat with 1,101 cases

Ahmedabad has emerged as worst-hit district in Gujarat in terms of coronavirus infection with as many as 239 positive cases found on Sunday alone, taking district tally to 1,101, officials said. death toll also went up to 32 on Sunday with seven more persons succumbing to infection, officials said.

Of total, as many as 1,077 cases were detected in Ahmedabad city alone, making it one of COVID-19 hotspot cities in country. officials, however, attributed this sharp rise in positive cases to "proactive intensive surveillance and aggressive testing" conducted by health teams, mainly in hotspot areas.

Out of total 1,743 cases in Gujarat, Ahmedabad alone accounts for 1,101 cases, highest in state, followed by Surat and Vadodara at 242 and 180 cases, health department said Sunday. On last Sunday district had reported 282 positive cases, which went up to 1,101 cases within a week.

"Proactive intensive surveillance and aggressive testing approach have led to a rise in number of coronavirus positive cases in Ahmedabad city limit area," Ahmedabad Municipal Commissioner Vijay Nehra said on Sunday. He said that while number of COVID-19 cases in city has surged over past few days due to active surveillance, most of cases are being reported form hotspot areas.

city also reported death of seven more COVID-19 patients on Sunday, taking death toll in city to 32, officials said. Around 14,000 samples have been tested so far in Ahmedabad city, which has a total population of around 80 lakh. Majority of samples are being collected and cases being detected being are from hotspot areas, he said.

"We have adopted a strategy of proactive intensive surveillance and aggressive testing, which will help us in controlling infection in coming days, and re is need to worry about rising number of cases in city, Nehra said.

"Our health teams are conducting health check-up in cluster areas, screening people, and sending samples of suspected cases for testing. This helps us detect asymptomatic cases through active surveillance, and reduce chances of spread of infection," he added.

Ahmedabad has so far tested 14,000 samples, with city recording an aver of 2,490 tests per million, two-and-a-half times more than Delhi, which has conducted 1,103 tests per million, officials said.

"Risk factor, surveillance strategy and testing approach decide number of cases. We are proactive and aggressive regarding surveillance and testing," Nehra said. Around 70 per cent of positive cases reported in Ahmedabad city are due to "active surveillance" strategy adopted by AMC, he said, adding that or cities and states will have to follow to contain virus.