Sharpest third Covid wave dip in Gujarat than other states

In comparison, Maharashtra  which has recorded highest cumulative Covid cases  has recorded a drop by 269 times in the same period, whereas Rajasthan and MP have recorded 247 times and 303 times drop in daily Covid cases.

It took the state 19 days to record a 10-fold drop (from 162 on March 1 to 17 on Saturday), whereas another 18 days to record a drop from 1,646 to 162, signifying a steady drop in cases. After 598 deaths in first 39 days of the year (till February 9), the subsequent 39 days have recorded 223 deaths, or a drop of 37%.

On March 19 two years ago, two samples –one each from Surat and Rajkot  tested positive for Covid-19, signifying entry of the pandemic in Gujarat. Ever since, the state has recorded more than 12.2 lakh cases and close to 11,000 'official' deaths.

As several Asian countries are recording a surge in Covid numbers again with a variant of Omicron, a high-level meeting was convened by the Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya, asking the states to be vigilant. Manoj Aggarwal, ACS (health), told sources that the 'test-track-treat' model would continue to work in the state.

"There are no special directives issued by the state government as of now as the daily cases are low. But we would be focusing on a higher number of testing and surveillance," he said.