There was no respite from COVID-19 as 19 more persons -- 16 in Sri Potti Sriramulu Nellore District and three in Prakasam district -- tested positive for the dreaded virus in the last 24 hours. The dreaded pandemic, which was restricted mostly to cities initially, started spreading to the rural parts in both districts.

Vinjamur village accounted for a maximum of four new cases, followed by Marripadu and Kota villages with three cases each and Venkatagiri, Dagadarthi, Naidupeta, Manubolu, Rapur and Nellore with one case each in SPSR Nellore district, according to a bulletin released by the Medical and Health Department. With this, the number of active cases in SPSR Nellore district rose to 86.

Throwing to wind the precautions suggested by the health officials, people were seen moving without marks in Nellore city.

Social distancing was followed more in breach than in observance. Police personnel imposed fine on those moving without masks and not observing physical distance at the busy VRC centre and other places.

Active cases

Two of the three new infected persons in Prakasam district, a 34-year-old man from Apparaopalle and 29-year-old man from Totavaripalle, contracted the disease after returning from Chennai, COVID-19 nodal officer John Richards said. The third patient was a 40-year-old woman, wife of an infected man from Karedu village, near Ulavapadu. The number of active cases in the district went up to 44.

Alarmed over the disease spreading to the rural parts, health officials implemented cluster containment strategy with full vigour in the affected mandals in both the districts. Sanitary workers sanitised the remote villages on Friday.