COVID-19 Death Toll In Gujarat Crosses 900, Ahmedabad Saw One Death Every Hour In The Past Week

The COVID-19 situation in Gujarat continues to remain grim and in the past 24 hours alone 364 new cases were reported across the state taking the total so far to 14,829. Gujarat recorded 27 more COVID deaths during the same period, taking the state's death toll to 915.

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Though Gujarat currently has the fourth-highest number of cases in India after Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Delhi, the state has the second-highest mortality rate after Maharashtra. The total number of COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra are 54,758 and the death toll is 1,792 while Gujarat has 14,829 cases and 915 deaths.

AFP

The state has been reporting over 20 deaths daily from the beginning of the month. Another 27 patients succumbed to the virus on Tuesday, out of which Ahmedabad had the highest casualties, 23.

In fact, the figures form Ahmedabad is staggering - the city saw one COVID-19 death every hour on an average in Ahmedabad district in the past one week, according to the analysis of figures provided by the state health department.

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The Gujarat High Court said on Tuesday that there was a lack of "proper teamwork and coordination" at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, where around 400 Covid-19 patients have died so far. The court had earlier termed the hospital as "pathetic" and equated it to a "dungeon".

The two judges said they'd make a surprise visit to the hospital to "put an end to all controversies with regard to the functioning of the civil hospital at Ahmedabad". "The state government boasts that the Civil Hospital at Ahmedabad is the biggest hospital in Asia, but, it should now strive very very hard to make the same as one of the best hospitals in Asia," the high court said.

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"We once again reiterate that what has been lacking is proper team work and coordination. If there is proper team work with proper coordination, then we are sure, conditions will definitely improve in the Civil Hospital," it said. "It is the responsibility of the health minister to keep a close vigil over the administration and functioning of the Civil Hospital. We have been assured that the state government will do its best to still improve the conditions at the Civil Hospital," the court said.

The Gujarat government in its application said the court's earlier observations, "founded on an anonymous letter and report of some person claiming to be a medical officer and resident doctor, apart from seriously demoralising the COVID-19 task force, has given rise to a lot of fear and anxiety in patients, who are declining to get admitted in the civil hospital."

The court said the anonymous letter of the resident doctor "contains very important elements," and directed an independent committee to look into its various aspects. The anonymous letter highlighted "mismanagement" and "irregularities", saying it could turn doctors such as him into "super spreaders" of coronavirus and put lives of non-COVID patients at risk.

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The government said in the application that Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel, who also holds the health portfolio, visited the hospital five times, and Principal Secretary Jayanti Ravi visited 20 times in two months after the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic.

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On the rising number of deaths in the hospital, the government said the death toll between March and May 2020 at the hospital due to COVID-19 and other diseases was 1,757, which was less than 2,408 during the same period in 2019.