Two more persons - one from Ongole and another from Chirala in Prakasam district - tested positive for coronavirus in the last 24 hours.
In a positive development, two more patients were discharged from the COVID-19 isolation centre in Nellore on Thursday, taking the total number of patients who have recovered so far to seven in SPSR Nellore district.
The number of infected persons in Prakasam district rose to 50. As many as 601 samples tested negative on Thursday, health officials in Ongole said.
Except for two students who returned from abroad and had recovered, all other infected persons in both the districts were either those who had attended a religious meet in Delhi or their primary contacts.
Ongole accounted for a maximum of 30 cases followed by six cases in Chirala, four in Kunkalamarru, three each in Kandukur and Kanigiri and one each in Markapur, Veligandla and Gudlur.
“As many as 58 patients are under treatment, and a majority of them from Nellore city are showing signs of recovery,” health officials said. Results of 990 samples are still awaited.
Meanwhile, Prakasam Collector P. Bhaskar held a meeting with industry representatives in Ongole and worked out modalities for allowing functioning of industrial units with restrictions in the green zone. He wanted officials to speed up execution of drinking and irrigation water projects and finalise tenders for stalled projects during the lockdown.
The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme would be implemented with full vigour, he said.