Central teams assess COVID-19 situation in Ahmedabad, Surat
The teams held talks with senior officials, includingcollectors, civic chiefs, police commissioners in Ahmedabadand Surat, they said.
Both the inter-ministerial central teams (IMCT) areheaded by Additional Secretary-level officers.
The visit comes a day after the Ministry of HomeAffairs (MHA) said that the coronavirus situation inAhmedabad, Surat, Thane (Maharashtra), Hyderabad (Telangana)and Chennai (Tamil Nadu) is "especially serious".
Till Friday evening, Ahmedabad district reported 1,821coronavirus positive cases, while the number of such patientsin Surat district is 462. As many as 83 patients have died inAhmedabad, while 14 others succumbed to the infection in Suratdistrict.
"The central teams held discussions with seniorofficials of the local administrations in the two hotspotcities on issues like rising cases of coronavirus andimplementation of lockdown measures," official sources said.
The Surat team held talks with state Chief SecretaryAnil Mukim through video-conference, during which theydiscussed the condition of migrant workers stuck in Surat.
Surat Municipal Commissioner B N Pani said he tookpart in the meeting. However, he did not share any furtherdetails.
These central teams will visit some of the COVID-19hotspot localities in Ahmedabad and Surat cities, the sourcessaid.
The MHA has directed the central teams to make an on-the-spot assessment of the situation and issue necessarydirections to the state authorities for its redressal andsubmit their report to the central government.
The teams are tasked with taking stock of differentfactors, like compliance and implementation of lockdownmeasures as per guidelines issued under the DisasterManagement Act 2005, supply of essential commodities, socialdistancing, preparedness of health infrastructure, hospitalfacilities and sample statistics in the district. KA PDNP NP