Eight more coronavirus cases in Gujarat, total 55

The number of coronavirus patients in Gujarat rose to 55 with eight new cases coming to light on Saturday, a senior health department officer said. The number of COVID-19 patients who died also increased to four, with a 46-year-old woman succumbing at a hospital during the day.

Eight new cases were reported since Friday evening, three in Ahmedabad, two in Gandhinagar and one each in Vadodara, Mehsana and Gir Somnath districts, said Principal Secretary (Health) Jayanti Ravi. With the number of cases increasing, the government has decided to set up a 100-bed isolation hospital at every district headquarters, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said.

Of the coronavirus patients in the state, 24 are cases of local disease transmission while 28 are those with foreign travel history, Ravi said, adding that three had traveled to other states in the country recently. Two districts reported their first coronavirus cases on Saturday - Mehsana and Gir Somnath.

Ahmedabad now has 18 cases, followed by Vadodara and Gandhinagar at nine each, Rajkot (eight), Surat (seven), and Kutch, Bhavnagar, Mehsana and Veraval (Gir Somnath) (one each). Two coronavirus patients have died in Ahmedabad and one each in Surat and Bhavnagar, Ravi said.

"The 46-year-old COVID-19 positive woman who passed away in Ahmedabad today was suffering from co-morbid conditions like pulmonary fibrosis as well as diabetes and hypertension," she said.

The state health department has surveyed over four crore people in the state in the wake of coronavirus outbreak so far, she said.

"As many as 69,683 persons were found to have either traveled abroad or to other states recently. Of these, 176 persons have shown symptoms of COVID-19 and are being tested," Ravi told reporters.

Chief Minister Rupani said that the state government will set up a 100-bed isolation hospital with ICU units and ventilators for coronavirus at every district headquarters. He also said the government will pay Rs 25 lakh to the family members of policemen in case they die in the line of duty.