Complacency inviting Covid back in A’bad

Indifference over third vax dose, dropping of mask use and rise in travel causing spikeA steady rise in Covid cases in Ahmedabad has city officials worried even as people seem to be going about business as usual, going without masks or keeping them below the chin, getting complacent about the third dose of vaccine and sometimes testing positive after returning from summer vacation.

Gujarat on Tuesday reported 72 new Covid cases of which 44 (62%) were reported in Ahmedabad, with all other districts reporting fewer than 10 cases. There are 363 active cases in the state as of June 7.
Officials in Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) said they are seeing a slow but steady rising trend in Covid cases in the city, especially among those who are returning from summer vacations to other states, particularly those visiting north on religious tourism and those coming back to Gujarat from Maharashtra and Kerala where Covid cases are rising exponentially.
The AMC on Tuesday decided to increase Covid testing in the city. Currently, the daily tests are around the 1,500-1,700 mark, which is set to rise to about 2,000 in the next couple of days. Wednesday onwards, Covid testing domes will become operational at the three major railway stations and at Gita Mandir bus stand.
The civic body’s Medical Officer of Health (MoH) Dr Bhavin Solanki said that over the next week, Covid testing will be increased to 2,500 tests per day or more in accordance with the emerging situation.
Dr Solanki said, “How much of a case rise we will see and the severity this time around remains to be seen, but cases are rising at the moment which is of principal concern.”
Officials have determined three main causes for rise of Covid cases in Ahmedabad, which is the outlier in the entire state at the moment. However, the trend is also in keeping with what was observed in the first three Covid waves, where the cases first start rising in Ahmedabad followed by other major cities and then penetrating in rural Gujarat.