Corona positive cases climb to 7 in Gujarat

Gandhinagar, March 20 With a total of five more coronavirus positive cases reported in Gujarat three in morning and two more in evening, the total number of such cases in the state climbed to seven on Friday.

Two positive cases were reported in the state on Thursday.

On Friday evening, positive cases confirmed by the Health Department included a 27- year-old man who arrived in Mumbai from London and traveled to his home in Ahmedabad. He was admitted in the Civil hospital at Ahmedabad on Thursday, and his blood samples sent to the BJ Medical College returned a positive report on Friday.

Health authorities immediately quarantined five persons who came in contact with this man.

A 69-year-old woman who landed at the Ahmedabad airport from Sri Lanka and went to Vadodara on March 14 also reported positive. She was admitted in SSG Hospital at Vadodara. BJ Medical College found her samples positive. Twelve persons who came in contact with her have been quarantined by authorities.

Earlier in the morning, Jayanti Ravi, Principal Secretary Health and Family Welfare Department, told the media: "Three more cases have been found positive. One is a resident of Vadodara, aged 49, who traveled from Spain to Mumbai and arrived in Vadodara by road. The patient's blood samples were found positive by BJ Medical College in Ahmedabad. The administration has quarantined two persons who had close contact with this person."

A woman, aged 34 and resident of Ahmedabad, had returned to the city from Finland and was admitted at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel hospital (SVP) on March 18. The health authorities immediately quarantined three persons who were in close contact with her.

An American woman, aged 21, who travelled from New York to Mumbai and then to Ahmedabad was also admitted in the SVP on March 17. The administration quarantined 18 persons who were in direct touch with her.

On Thursday, a 32-year-old man from Saudi Arabia had arrived from Mumbai, and was found positive after tests at MP Shah Medical College in Jamnagar.

Another case was of a woman, 21, in Surat who arrived from London and was admitted in Surat Civil Hospital. Her samples tested positive at the BJ Medical College and later confirmed by National Institute of Virology, Pune.

Till date, 189 samples have been drawn for testing in Gujarat, of which seven have tested positive, while reports of 34 are awaited.

Meanwhile, Ahmedabad Police Commissioner Ashish Bhatia has imposed Section 144 of the CrPC within Municipal Corporation area, banning gathering of four or more persons at one place from March 21 to 31.

( With inputs from IANS )