In a positive development, 37 patients — 22 in Ongole and 15 in Nellore — were discharged while three others tested positive in Prakasam district in the last 24 hours.

With this, 23 persons each in Prakasam and Nellore districts have been cured, thanks to round-the-clock treatment provided by the medical teams for the last 24 days.

The number of patients under treatment stood at 33 with three more persons — two from Gudlur and one from Ongole— testing positive in Prakasam district.

In Nellore, the number of active cases came down to 47 as 23 persons, including the first patient in Andhra Pradesh, a student who had returned from Italy, were cured. The discharged persons will be home quarantined for another 14 days.

Patients under treatment were recovering fast. “More patients will be discharged this week,” Dr. Sriramulu, Superintendent, Government General Hospital, Ongole told The Hindu.

Emotional scenes were witnessed as 22 patients, a majority of them who had returned after attending a religious congregation in New Delhi, thanked the team of doctors, nurses and paramedics on being discharged from the two hospitals in Ongole.

Sample testing

While 11 persons were discharged from the GGH, Ongole and an equal number of persons were released from KIMS hospital late on Saturday.

The health authorities heaved a sigh of relief as 3,046 samples have turned negative so far in Prakasam district. Results of another 4,996 samples were awaited.

Meanwhile, local BJP leader Yashwant Singh distributed sanitisers and masks to 200 sanitary workers in Nellore.