Rajkot (Information): Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and Deputy Chief Minister Nitinbhai Patel today held detailed high-level meetings to review the state’s continued fight against global pandemic novel coronavirus COVID-19 with senior officers first at Rajkot and then at Vadodara.

They announced several steps after the meetings attended by senior officers of the municipal corporations and district administration, office-bearers, people’s representatives and representatives of IMA at both the cities. They later shared the details at the media briefing.

The stress was on micro planning and framing strategy for particularly the health department to continue the fight. The government proposed to raise the number of testing for corona in the state to 20,000 daily, followed by distribution of ukada particularly in people residing in containment zones. The purpose is to increase the immunity of people.

Rupani announced contribution of Rs.5-crore from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund towards creating more facilities to control and combat the deadly virus at Rajkot as well as Vadodara, raising the contribution to Rs.10-crore for each city.

With a number of festivals and fairs on cards in the month of August like Ganeshotsav, Janmashtami, Bakrid, Samvatsari and Bhadarvi Poonam, he said there is need to create awareness.

He appealed to the people expecting them to observe protocol like wearing masks, maintaining social distancing, sanitizing hands and themselves refrain from assembly.

Since Rajkot receives patients from all over the Saurashtra region, he said, the Covid Hospital at Rajkot will have 2,500-bed capacity in the coming days, besides creating more facilities for medicines, kits, X-Ray and various testing machines.

Screening and testing of super-spreaders like vegetable-fruit vendors, cart-pushers and shop-keepers will be doubled in both the cities. The Dhanvantari Raths are making trips in crowded areas at pre-scheduled time and place.

For Vadodara, Rupani said that more beds will be added to Sir Sayajirao Gaekwad (SSG) Hospital , besides supplying more ventilators as per the need. The attempt is to screen people at least once a week at Dabhoi, Savli and Padra in door-to-door surveillance, distributing Homoeopathic and Ayurvedic medicines and ukada.

Rupani said the government is completely focused to search the corona cases and provide best free treatment, arranging adequate supply of medicines, equipment and kits for the last five months. The government has allocated Rs.33-crore for life-saving Tocilizumab and Remedesivir injections, while new supply of Itolizumab injections has arrived.

He said the recovery rate in the state is 74 per cent and death rate 4 (four) per cent and stands at Number 12 in the country.

Rupani appealed to the members of IMA also to join the treatment of corona virus.

Those present at the review meetings at both the cities included Chief Secretary Anil Mukim, Chief Minister’s Chief Principal Secretary K. Kailashnathan, Principal Secretary for Health Jayanti Ravi.