Ahmedabad: Shops Will Not Open in 6 of 48 Wards, Says Official

Ahmedabad, Apr 25 (PTI) No shops will be open in six out of 48 wards in Ahmedabad, Gujarat's worst coronavirus-hit city, as these are part of containment zones created to control the COVID-19 outbreak, civic officials said on Saturday, a day after the Centre allowed conditional opening of shops amid the nationwide lockdown.

The Gujarat government has allowed standalone shops to operate across the state from Sunday, except in areas declared cluster containment zones by local authorities.

"Six out of 48 wards in Ahmedabad city have been declared cluster containment zone, including four in central zone and two in south zone. Shops will not open in these six wards. The relaxations will be implemented in other areas with some restrictions. Teams will check if social distancing norms are being maintained and everyone is wearing masks," an official said.

Ahmedabad Municipal Commissioner Vijay Nehra said the number of COVID-19 cases in the city was doubling every eight days and at this rate, the number of patients could reach around 10,000 by May 15.

However, he added the city had readied infrastructure for such a number.

"If we slow down the doubling span to 12 days, then we may have 7,000-8,0000 cases by May 15," he added.

Nehra said the city had tested 20,801 samples, that comes to a rate of 3,300 per million, which is one of the highest in the country, he said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)