Gujarat records highest active cases

Ahmedabad: How big is the current Covid surge? It’s big enough to propel Gujarat into the list of top 10 Indian states with highest active cases as of Tuesday evening. The state surpassed Delhi (17,332) to claim the ninth position with 17,348 cases. However, there is a major gap between Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh on No 8 which has 24,155 active cases.

In terms of percentage of active cases, however, Gujarat ranks fifth among these 10 states with 5.3%. Maharashtra topped the list with15.2%, followed by Chhattisgarh (13.6%), Punjab (10.1%), and Madhya Pradesh (7.7%).

“Active cases are defined as difference between total cases and combination of discharged and deceased patients. From December to March, discharge rate had climbed up to 96%. But skyrocketing cases, and dip in discharges has resulted in high active cases,” said an epidemiologist, adding that more days of hospitalization can increase bed occupancy.
State health department data revealed that Surat district had the highest active cases at 4,037 followed by 2,940 in Ahmedabad, 2,617 in Vadodara and 1,869 in Rajkot. The four districts account for 66% or two-thirds of Gujarat’s total active cases. Nine of 33 districts have active Covid-19 cases in double digits. The lowest active cases were in Porbandar at 4. Dangs, which earlier had the lowest total and active cases, had 48 cases as of Tuesday. “The surge is often attributed to the new strain.s Longer recovery period can increase the active cases count,” added the epidemiologist.