3,000 individuals being tested daily to check for virus in Gujarat

As many as 3,000 coronavirus tests are being conducted in Gujarat everyday and there is no plan to reduce it, a senior official said on Thursday while dismissing rumours that the state government has reduced Covid-19 testing.

The Gujarat government has also decided to declare the figures of coronavirus tests and deaths only once in 24 hours, instead of the present practice of providing the details twice a day, state principal secretary (health) Jayanti Ravi told reporters in Gandhinagar.

"We have not reduced the tests to detect coronavirus cases. We are conducting 3,000 tests everyday in Gujarat. Out of these, 2,500 samples are collected from across the state while 500 samples are of those who are already quarantined or admitted to hospitals," she said.

The official was responding to questions on rumours about less number of Covid-19 tests being done in the state.

"Till now, we used to share tests and death figures once in the morning and then in the evening. To avoid any duplication of data, we will now share the details only in the evening. The figures will reflect all the tests conducted across the state during 24 hours," she said.

Till Wednesday, the state reported 2,407 coronavirus cases and 103 deaths.

The official said the number of Covid-19 cases have increased significantly because of the intensive surveillance and testing in areas which have been declared as hotspots.

Asked where Gujarat stands in terms of Covid-19 cases and deaths, she said "this is not a competition".

She said majority of the coronavirus victims who died were either aged or suffering from other ailments, like heart disease and high diabetes.