265 COVID-19 cases bring Ahmedabad tally near 7,000; 19 die
Ahmedabad, May 14 () The number of coronaviruscases in Ahmedabad district of Gujarat rose to 6,910 onThursday after 265 new infections were reported in the last 24hours, while the death toll increased to 465, said healthdepartment officials.
Out of the total 20 persons who died in Gujarat duringthe period due to the viral infection, as many as 19 succumbedin different hospitals in Ahmedabad city, said PrincipalSecretary, Health, Jayanti Ravi.
Ahmedabad, a commercial hub, remained the worstaffected district in Gujarat with 6,910 COVID-19 cases and 465deaths reported so far.
Out of the 265 new cases, 260 were recorded inAhmedabad city and five in rural areas of the district, Ravisaid.
Similarly, out of the total 6,910 cases registered inAhmedabad district so far, as many as 6,783 were from the cityand the rest 127 from other parts of the district.
As many as 135 patients were discharged from varioushospitals of the city on Thursday, Ravi said.
To contain the spread of the virus, Ahmedabad city wasput under a complete lockdown since May 7. The AhmedabadMunicipal Corporation (AMC) had ordered closure of all shops,except those selling milk and medicines, from May 7 to May 15.
Now, the AMC has relaxed certain curbs and announcedthat shops selling essential items like fruits, vegetables andgroceries will be allowed to reopen from May 15.
After reviewing the situation, Additional ChiefSecretary Rajiv Gupta, who is overseeing works related toCOVID-19 in Ahmedabad, said shops selling essential items suchas vegetables, fruits and groceries will remain open between 8am and 3 pm from May 15.
"We have already screened 17,000 vendors and issuedhealth cards to them. o maintain social distancing and avoidovercrowding, we want women to come out for shopping between 8am and 11 am.