At least 24 personnel who arrived in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, for preparations ahead of the Rashtriya Ekta Diwas (National Unity Day) parade have tested positive for dengue at Gandhinagar Civil Hospital over the past two days, while several others remain under observation with fever and body ache, a senior hospital official confirmed on Friday, 2 October 2026.

How the Cases Unfolded

Gandhinagar Civil Hospital Resident Medical Officer (RMO) Vipula Pandya said that around 34 personnel were admitted on Thursday, of whom 23 tested positive for dengue and the rest were classified as suspected cases. On Friday, up to approximately 5 pm, five more were admitted — one confirmed positive and four being treated as suspected cases pending test results.

'Yesterday there were 34 people who came in. Of them, 23 were positive, and the rest were suspected,' Pandya said. She added that around 10 patients had been discharged by Friday afternoon, with the remaining patients reported as stable and several expected to be discharged within the next one or two days.

'Everyone is stable, and there are no complications as of now,' Pandya said.

Who the Affected Personnel Are

The patients are mostly aged between 25 and 30 years and have reported symptoms including fever and body ache. No serious conditions have been reported among those admitted. According to Pandya, the personnel have come from multiple states including Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Kerala, and Bihar, and are among the thousands who have arrived in Gujarat for parade rehearsals at Ekta Nagar.

Pandya noted that the large number of people had been accommodated together at a hostel in Gandhinagar. 'Everyone is staying in the same hostel,' she said, pointing out that several thousand personnel had arrived and shared accommodation had been arranged. She, however, did not identify the hostel as the confirmed source of infections, clarifying that the epidemiological investigation would have to be conducted by state and district-level public health teams.

'The epidemic doctors will carry out all those investigations. We doctors are only concerned with the treatment... we look after the patients here,' Pandya said.

Broader Dengue Context in Gujarat

This comes amid an already-active dengue season in the state. According to officials, more than 1.35 lakh suspected dengue serum samples had been tested through diagnostic centres attached to 42 hospitals across Gujarat, with 2,099 positive cases recorded in 2026 up to the late-September review. State health authorities had assessed the vector-borne disease situation in late September, underscoring that the outbreak among parade personnel is not an isolated occurrence but part of a wider seasonal trend.

The hospital said it has also checked its emergency unit, which has not recorded a similar spike in indoor admissions. Authorities have been notified and epidemic teams have been alerted to assess the situation.

What the Ekta Diwas Parade Involves

The Rashtriya Ekta Diwas celebrations are scheduled for 30 and 31 October 2026 at Ekta Nagar, with the main parade on 31 October. The event is planned to feature around 10,000 police and paramilitary personnel, cultural troupes, bands, an Indian Air Force flypast, and an address by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. With less than a month to go, health authorities will need to move swiftly to contain further spread among the assembled contingents.