While Gujarat reported 9,177 new Covid-19 cases Saturday, lower than the 10,091 cases reported the previous day, the state recorded seven deaths, a spike from the two deaths recorded a day ago. Gujarat had last recorded as many single-day deaths seven months ago, in the second week of June 2021. Sixty of the 59,564 active patients across the state are on ventilators as on Saturday, according to the daily bulletin issued by the health department. The weekly test positivity rate (TPR) in at least five districts is higher than 10 per cent. However, Ahmedabad and Surat, which lead in the number of active cases across all districts in the state, have seen fewer hospitalisations, even though the weekly TPR remains high - at 22.15 per cent and 13.56 per cent respectively. The other districts with TPR above 10 per cent are Vadodara (15.67 per cent), Bharuch (11.51 per cent) and Gandhinagar (10.22 per cent). In Ahmedabad, with 20,872 active cases across the city and rural limits, the public dashboard of the Gujarat Epidemic Response Management Information System (GERMIS) indicated 216 beds occupied across 211 hospitals in the city as of Saturday evening. In Ahmedabad rural, only four Covid patients have been admitted, said a district health official. At AMC-run SVP Hospital, 12 of the 392 provisioned beds were occupied, while at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, 48 of the 1,152 provisioned beds were occupied, according to GERMIS. Overall, hospital occupancy remains at nearly 1.5 per cent across Ahmedabad, while only about one per cent of the total active cases across the district is hospitalised. Meanwhile, Ahmedabad city is seeing a decline in the number of active micro-containment zones that currently stand at 157, with 14 new areas added to the restricted list. Ahmedabad city reported 2,621 new cases and two deaths, while the rural limits added 45 new cases. In Surat, a total of 28 patients are admitted to the municipal corporation-run SMIMER Hospital as of Saturday, according to the health department of the civic body. Of the 28 new patients, six are on ventilator, four are on BiPAP support and four others are on oxygen support. At New Civil Hospital, 65 Covid patients are admitted, three of whom are on ventilator and 16 others are on oxygen support. In Valsad, while the state health bulletin Friday recorded one Covid death, the local district health officials reported two deaths the same evening. The casualties, according to the Valsad district health officials, are a 78-year-old male from Chharwada village and another 89-year-old man from Nanakwada village.
