Tahsildar, doctor among 44 new Covid-19 cases in Andhra Pradesh

Umamaheswara Rao & Sandeep Raghavan | TNN | Updated: Apr 15, 2020, 05:56 IST

A civic worker sprays disinfectants on a street in Vijayawada.

VIJAYAWADA/TIRUPATI: A tahsildar and a doctor figured among 44 new Covid-19 patients in Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday, even as two more people were declared dead from the deadly virus. While the death toll from Covid-19 rose to eight, the positive tally stood at 483.
The tahsildar attached to a rural mandal in Anantapur and a physician working at government general hospital in Anantapur tested positive, the government said. The tahsildar is first revenue official in AP to have contacted the virus. Earlier, five medical staff at Anantapur had tested positive.
Covid-19 has already claimed life of a doctor from Nellore. The tahsildar, who lives in Hindupur town, attended a recent review meeting conducted by a local MLA. Revenue and health officials are now in search of primary and secondary contacts of the tahsildar. The legislator is likely to be sent to quarantine.
Tracking the contacts of the tahsildar could prove to be a daunting task as he has been working at the frontline of Covid-19 battle in the district, and may have met several people. Anantapur collector Gandham Chandrudu said the tahsildar is being treated at the district Covid-19 hospital.
The doctor is the sixth one from the medical fraternity at Anantapur GGH to contract Covid-19 as five others, including two doctors and three paramedical staff, have tested positive.
Among the 44 fresh cases, 21 were reported from Guntur district, 8 from Krishna, 7 from Kurnool, 5 from Anantapur, 2 from Kadapa and 1 in Nellore.
Guntur is the first district in the state to breach the century mark with a total of 114 cases. The Covid-19 curve of the district witnessing a major jump in the last one week has kept the district officials on their toes. Making things more puzzled for the officials, several Covid-19 cases in the district, including two deaths, have no travel or contact history.
According to authorities, one of the two deceased was a 56-year-old orthopaedic surgeon from Nellore. The doctor, reportedly having comorbidities such as diabetes and hypertension, died in a corporate hospital in Chennai on Monday. He was a contact of TJ meeting attendee. Another victim was a 55-year-old male from Vijayawada. The patient was admitted with cough to GGH in Vijayawada on April 5. The man, contact of another Covid patient, was suffering from asthma and diabetes. He was kept on ventilator from April 9 before he passed away on April 12.