COVID-19: Four-member Central team to visit Gujarat on Friday

Ahmedabad, July 16: A four-member team of the central government will be on a visit to Gujarat on Friday to review the coronavirus situation in the state and to provide necessary guidance.

This expert team comprises AIIMS director Dr Randeep Guleria, NITI Aayog member Vinod Paul, Director General of ICMR Dr Balram Bhargav and Additional Secretary in the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Arti Ahuja.

The team will first visit Surat on Friday morning and hold a review meeting with the local officials, including collector and municipal commissioner, a release issued by the Gujarat government on Thursday said.

After a field visit in some parts of Surat, the team would arrive at Ahmedabad in the afternoon to review the steps taken by the administration to contain the spread of the virus, it said. The team would also hold a meeting with Chief Minister Vijay Rupani in the evening, the release said, adding that the team would leave on July 18 morning.

With 919 new coronavirus cases, Gujarat's tally breached the 45,000-mark on Thursday, while the death of 10 patients across the state took the toll to 2,091, the health department said. Ahmedabad's case count has reached 23,780, the highest in the state, while Surat is at the second spot with 9,451 cases.