Gujarat’s 1st Case Of Covid XE Variant Reported; Patient Is From Mumbai, And Was Visiting This City

After the first case of the new Covid variant, XE Covid-19 variant was detected in Maharashtra, it has now been detected in the neighboring state Gujarat.

This time, the new coronavirus variant has been detected in a 67-year old man, who is a resident of Mumbai and was visiting Vadodara.

Besides, the present Covid-19 hotspot, Gujarat National Law University (GNLU) in Gandhinagar, has been adding new cases, with the total active Covid-19 cases climbing to 37 on Saturday.

New Covid-19 Variant Detected in Gujarat

The new XE Covid-19 variant has recently been detected in a Mumbai resident in Gujarat, who was visiting Gotri, Vadodara, officials of the Gujarat Health department confirmed on Saturday.

The man’s identity was confirmed by Additional Chief Secretary of Health department, Manoj Aggarwal on Saturday, as being 67-years of age. He had tested Covid positive on March 12 and was treated via home isolation, the official said.

The state government issued a press note mentioning that the man has comorbid conditions.

“Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre detected the XE variant in the patient 12 days ago. The sample was sent for confirmation as per INSACOG guidelines, to a Kolkata laboratory (DBT- National Institute of Biomedical Genomics (NIBMG), Kalyani). The confirmation report of the XE variant was received Friday night,” stated Aggarwal.

According to the Medical Officer for Health at the Vadodara Municipal Corporation, Dr Devesh Patel, “The patient was a 67-year-old male from Mumbai, who, along with his wife, was visiting Vadodara. They had checked into a hotel on arrival and the man had developed symptoms such as fever. They took a Covid-19 test and when the result came positive, they returned to Mumbai and were in strict home quarantine. He did not meet anyone in Vadodara.”

Active Covid Cases Rising in Gujarat National Law University

Gujarat National Law University has become the Covid-19 hotspot in the country, with active cases on the rise.

From the range of active cases standing at 64-76 per day until last week, it has risen to almost 114 active cases each day in Gujarat, thanks to the numbers contributed from GNLU.

A total of 34 students tested positive in the university on April 7 and 8 and stood at 37 cases on Saturday. Total 167 Rapid Antigen Tests were conducted on Friday and 69 on Saturday.

“All those who have tested positive are on the road to recovery with no severe symptoms. But for one student who is hospitalized, all others are isolated in the campus guest house. They are either asymptomatic or have mild symptoms. One student, who is hospitalized, is reportedly stable,” read an official statement from GNLU.