Nellore district continued to see a steady rise in COVID cases as 1,092 more persons tested positive, while 11 succumbed to the infection in the district in the last 24 hours.

The tally shot up to 32,681 with the district reporting more than 1,000 cases for the last five days in a row. The death toll rose to 311.

In Prakasam district, the toll surged to 295 with eight fresh deaths during the period, according to a health bulletin released by the Medical and Health Department on Wednesday night. At least 800 persons contracted the disease taking the total number of cases to 24,518.

As many as 1,425 persons, 1,023 in Nellore district and 402 in Prakasam, were discharged from the hospitals during the period.

Situation reviewed

Reviewing the health situation, Energy Minister Balineni Srinivasa Reddy, who has fully recovered from COVID-19, lauded the health professionals including doctors and nurses for providing 24x7 medical care to the infected persons. About 1.2% of the patients succumbed to the disease.

Meanwhile, Prakasam Superintendent of Police Siddharth Kaushal launched a COVID-19 Care Centre exclusively for police personnel and their families as many of them got infected.

Prakasam District Collector Pola Bhaskar said the bed strength at the Government General Hospital had been increased from 500 to over 1,000 to accommodate the increasing number of patients requiring critical care. Beds had been arranged in the Medical College Hostel as the number of active cases crossed the 11,000-mark. The district administration had sought the services of 25 more doctors in view of the steady increase in the number of fresh cases, he said.

Ongole MP Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy suggested creation of temporary facilities to accommodate all the serious patients.