Ahmedabad, June 10 With Covid-19 cases in Gujarat doubling in four days, hospitals have started taking stock of their preparedness to handle a possible rush of patients in the coming days.

Ahmedabad city reported 83 new cases on Friday, more than double the 31 cases reported four days ago on Monday. The largest state-run hospital, Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, has made functional its dedicated 1,200-bed Covid hospital. Sources at the hospital said the authorities have started checking oxygen supplies, the ventilator inventory and the stock of medicines and other requirements.

Government sources said government-run hospitals in the districts have been asked to check their preparedness to tackle a possible wave of infections.

"The rise in cases is not significant at present and most of the cases reported in the State are concentrated in the cities of Ahemdabad, Vadodara, Gandhinagar, Rajkot and Surat. But we are preparing to tackle a possible surge," said an official at the State health department.

Gujarat reported 143 new cases on Friday, up from 53 on Monday. The test positivity rate has jumped to nearly 1 per cent from 0.2 per cent at the beginning of the week.

The active cases now stand at 608, but none of the patients are on ventilator support, the State health department's health bulletin said on Friday.

The civic body in Ahmedabad has ramped up testing of passengers arriving in the city on trains and buses. Testing domes have been set up at railway stations and bus terminus to test arriving passengers.

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