Amid a spike in new daily Covid-19 cases, Gujarat has imposed micro-containment zones in two areas of Ahmedabad city for the first time since the end of the second wave in April-May.
The civic body Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) on Friday declared a micro-containment zone in an area of the city covering around 20 houses with a population of 76.
This is the second such containment after it was announced on Thursday in the area covering 20 houses with a population of 85.
A micro containment zone has a complete ban on the movement of residents in the area.
A note from the civic body said, “The health team of the corporation will conduct door-to-door surveillance and screening for COVID-like symptoms and conduct COVID tests for those with symptoms.”
Daily new cases in Ahmedabad city have increased from two on October 31, 2021 to 14 on November 11, raising concerns for health officials about a possible start of the much-awaited third wave. However, only two new cases were reported in the city on Friday.
For Gujarat, there has been a 25 per cent increase in active cases in the last one month, from 186 on October 11 to 234 on November 11. There has been an increase of 14 per cent in active cases so far during November, from 205 on October 31. 22 new cases were reported in the state on Friday, out of which 35 were discharged.
Bharat Gadhvi, president of the Ahmedabad Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association (AHNA), said, “Most of the new cases have mild symptoms. There are no serious hospitalizations.”
Much to the delight of health professionals in the authorities, the death rate remains low. Across the state, a total of four deaths have been reported in the last one month, with one in November so far.
Gujarat had reported a peak of 14,605 cases on April 30; Since then the cases have been declining and have stabilized between 20-30 from the end of July. Notably, the festive season which began with Navratri in mid-October and lasted till Diwali last week, saw crowds in markets, public places, hotels and restaurants, besides tourist destinations within and outside the state. Although the night curfew is still in force in the state between 1 pm and 6 am, the crowd is often seen compromising on the adherence to masks and social distancing.
Apart from Gujarat, other states including Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and West Bengal have also shown a marginal increase in new daily cases.
Delhi saw its daily new cases hovering between 40-54 over the past week. West Bengal has seen a marginal increase in new cases from 725 recorded on November 1 to 854 on November 11. Punjab witnessed a sharp increase from 26 to 48 in the same period. Daily new cases in Haryana also doubled, from 20 to 40 since the beginning of November.
The total new cases across the country on November 11 stood at 12,516, almost the same level as the 12,514 reported on October 31.
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