Surat, Jul 7 (PTI) The number of COVID-19 cases reached 7,001 in Surat in Gujarat after 249 people tested positive for coronavirus in the last 24 hours, while three deaths took the toll in the district to 266, an official said on Tuesday.

While 204 cases were from Surat city, the rest were from the district's rural parts, he added.

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Surat now has the second highest number of cases in the state after Ahmedabad where the figure currently stands at 22,262.

With 76 people getting discharged during the day, the number of such cases is now 4,209.

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Despite steps like closing paan shops, diamond polishing units and banning street vendors in Katargam, Varachha and Sarthana, the rise in cases in these three areas of the city continued.

(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)