Gujarat is considered to have one the best healthcare infrastructure in India, yet it has been reporting the highest infection and death rates in the country due to coronavirus. Despite the development model appreciation, Gujarat ranks second, after Maharashtra. When these numbers are put in the context of the population, the results are tragic. This is the same health infrastructure that could manage swine flu, ebola, and other viruses.
Gujarat is at its lowest with just 1,930 testings per million and has the highest death rate which is at 6%. The testing as of 3rd May was 5,944 while on 13th May it drastically dropped to 2,412.
Refuting some media reports suggesting that a lesser number of tests are being done to project a rosy picture about positive cases, Ravi said Gujarats per million testing average is higher than many states and also above the national average.
“Its a misconception that we are conducting fewer tests. Gujarat has conducted 1,859 tests per million, much higher than the national average of 1,343.
“In the test per million criteria, we are also better than Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Kerala,” said Ravi in a video message.
According to AMC commissioner, Vijay Nehra, the officials were prepared from 24th January as they had started training their medical workers and had started providing PPE kits. There were reports of delayed allotment of beds for positive patients who were also police officers, although they were looked after well later on. The medical staff had also complained about the inadequate protective gear and testing for themselves.
While Principal secretary of health, Jayanti Ravi, has attributed the high rate of deaths to the L strain of the virus, which has a higher transmission capacity. Dr. Patel, a clinician, is a member of the ICMR research committee who consults for the Gujarat government, explained that the virus mutated after it left Wuhan. And Gujarat saw returnees from various parts of the world, unlike Kerala.
The pandemic had led to CM Vijay Rupani to be quarantined as he came in close contact with a positive patient. So it was Jayanti Ravi and Vijay Nehra making most of the official announcements.
There have been speculations that the reason for lesser reporting rates could be the possibility of fear. People are in a state of panic and they report only when they suspect symptoms. Also in many slums, many cases may have gone unreported due to the asymptomatic characteristic of the virus. The pockets and hotspot areas of the city should be strictly checked and provide them more information to spread awareness and reduce panic.
