Twelve more patients succumbed to coronavirus in south coastal districts of Prakasam and Nellore, while 1,363 persons were tested positive during the last 24 hours.

The toll rose to 267 with the six deaths each being reported from both the districts. As many as 146 patients in Prakasam and 121 patients in Nellore have died till date, said a health bulletin released by the government on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the number of patients recovered during the period outnumbered new cases by 375, as 1,738 patients—1,433 in Nellore and 305 in Prakasam were discharged from the hospitals and other COVID facilities during the period.

Reviewing the situation in Nellore along with his cabinet colleagues P. Anil Kumar Yadav and M. Goutham Reddy, Health Minister Alla Kali Krishna Srinivas said that the government had earmarked ₹350 crore per month for the measures in place to check the spread of the virus.

Mr. Srinivas, who presented a cheque for ₹5,000 each to plasma doners here, urged the patients to donate plasma within three months of their recovery.

‘No side-effects’

“There are no side-effects of donating plasma. The health officials must gear up to ensure the challenges as the caseload has been projected to go up in the next two months,” he said.

The patients undergoing treatment in COVID-19 facilities expressed satisfaction over the healthcare services being offered to them when the Minister interacted with them through video conferencing app.

Nellore Collector K.V.N.Chakradhar said that 17 of the 40 ambulances operating in the district were engaged on COVID duty. “As many as 1.80 lakh people have been tested in the district till date at the rate of 5,000 a day,” he said.

Contact tracing

Meanwhile, Prakasam Collector P. Bhaskar asked the health officials working at the grassroots level to identify all primary and secondary contacts of the infected persons.

“The death rate in the district stands at 1.37% and it is relatively low when compared to the same of other districts. Around 240 beds with oxygen facility have been arranged to treat the patients with comorbidity conditions and those in the need of critical healthcare services.