AIIMS chief rushed to Guj on Amit Shah’s orders as virus cases rise

AHMEDABAD: The chief of the premier All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi, who took a special Indian Air Force flight to Gujarat on Union Home minister Amit Shah’s instructions, visited a hospital in Ahmedabad and interacted with doctors on Saturday, advising them on COVID-19 treatment. The top doctor’s visit comes after a sharp rise in the

Coronavirus cases in Gujarat.

The number of Coronavirus cases in Gujarat rose to 7,797 on Saturday with 394 new cases, 280 of them in Ahmedabad, while death toll rose by 23 to 472, a senior health official said.

AIIMS director Dr Randeep Guleria, a pulmonologist, and Dr Manish Sureja, from the AIIMS department of medicine, had left for Ahmedabad by a special Indian Air Force (IAF) flight on Friday evening on Amit Shah’s instructions, sources in the Home ministry said.

The AIIMS chief will also visit SVP Hospital in the city.

Dr Guleria, who interacted with doctors at the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital to give them advice on the treatment strategy, also meet the Gujarat Principal Secretary (Health) Jayanti Ravi. He is also expected to meet Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani.

“One important issue that was discussed is the stigma attached to COVID-19. People still fear coming to hospitals to get tested... I spoke to doctors and the staff about how can we improve our facilities and if they are facing any issues,” Dr Guleria said during a press conference after meeting the doctors.

The Gujarat government has also roped in private intensive care experts in the state to guide the civil hospital staff about ways to bring down the mortality rate.

Meanwhile, BJP president J P Nadda said on Saturday that making “inhuman” comments about the health of Union Home minister Amit Shah is “extremely condemnable”.

“Spreading such misleading remarks about anyone’s health shows the mindset of people doing so. I strongly condemn it and pray to God to grant them good sense,” Nadda said in a tweet.

His tweet came after Shah asserted in a statement that he is “totally healthy” and rejected rumours being spread about his ill health on social media.