Guj: Surat district's COVID-19 case count crosses 10,000-mark

Surat in Gujarat reported 285 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, highest for any district in the state for the day, which pushed its tally beyond the 10,000- mark, the health department said. The district's case count now stands at 10,258, it said. With nine deaths, the district's COVID-19 fatality count was also the highest in the state on Sunday.

Surat in Gujarat reported 285 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, highest for any district in the state for the day, which pushed its tally beyond the 10,000- mark, the health department said. The district's case count now stands at 10,258, it said.

With nine deaths, the district's COVID-19 fatality count was also the highest in the state on Sunday. With this, its number of victims has now gone up to 435. Surat city reported 206 new cases, while rural areas in the district recorded 79.

Six of the nine deaths were reported from the city, and three from the district, the health department said in a release. With 207 patients getting discharged during the day, the tally of recovered patients in the district rose to 6,315.

Among those discharged on Sunday was a 29-year-old woman, who recovered from the infection after nearly a month-and-a-half as she also suffered from TB, local health officials said. She had to be kept in the ICU for a week after being admitted to the COVID-19 ward of the civil hospital on May 7, they said.

The SMIMER Hospital of Surat Municipal Corporation has taken a new initiative to offer "psycho-social health cure treatment" to the COVID-19 patients admitted there. As part of this, the authorities have decided to connect the patients to their relatives through video calls once a day so that they know about their well-being, officials said.

This is a part of the "psycho-social health cure treatment" adopted by the hospital authority to cheer up the patients and make them mentally strong by creating a positive atmosphere for them, they said.