Road accidents dip in Gujarat during lockdown
From about 398 daily cases of accidents in normaltimes, the number fell to 115 during the lockdown period, saysthe study conducted by GVK Emergency Management and ResearchInstitute (EMRI) that operates the free 108 ambulance servicein the state.
A comparative analysis of calls received for variousemergencies on normal days and during the lockdown periodshowed that incidents of vehicular trauma, or accidents, fellsharply by 71 per cent, mainly due to lack of vehicles onroads, it said.
However, cases of non-vehicular trauma rose from 281on normal days to 400 during lockdown, showing more peoplewere physically or sexually assaulted, or fell down and hurtthemselves, it said.
"This is surprising, and goes on to show that morepeople came out on roads despite lockdown," GVK EMRIspokesperson Ashok Soni said.
Besides, the number of people calling for ambulanceafter suffering from high fever doubled during this period,mainly due to coronavirus concerns, the agency said.
The number of calls received for ambulance servicesduring the lockdown between March 25 and April 25 in the staterose mainly due to restrictions on the movement ofothervehicles, as per the analysis.
The 108 ambulance service received about 3,854 callson the daily basis for various emergency cases during thelockdown period, compared to 3,073 calls during normal days,showing an increase of 25 per cent, it said.
Out of 1.55 lakh emergencies served since March 18 bythe 108 service, 10,272 were related to suspected coronaviruscases, the agency said.
Dedicated ambulances were deployed for suspectedcoronavirus patients, with medical technicians and driversbeing trained and provided protective gears as per guidelines,it said.
As many as two emergency medical technicians testedpositive for coronavirus, it said, adding that both of themlater recovered. KA PDGK GK