In a welcome development, there were more recoveries with the number of fresh cases and fatalities also declining in south coastal Andhra Pradesh in the last 24 hours.
The daily tally, which hovered around 1,000 or more during last month, has now come down drastically to less than 500 during this month. Similarly, the number of deaths, which had been in the double digit during the previous month, came down to single digit this month.
With six more deaths in the region in the last 24 hours, the toll marginally rose to 1,008, according to a health bulletin released by the State Government on Monday night. The toll in Prakasam district rose to 536 with five more deaths while Nellore district recorded one taking the toll to 472.
The number of recoveries was double the tally in the two districts in the last 24 hours. While 436 persons got infected, as many as 979 patients won the battle against the viral disease.
Active cases
With 166 new cases, the cumulative confirmed cases rose to 58,410 in Nellore district where the active cases fell to 2,898 as 436 patients recovered from illness. So far, 55,512 patients have recovered from the disease in the district.
In Prakasam district, the total number of positive cases rose to 54,658 as 270 persons tested positive for the disease in the last 24 hours. However, the active cases dropped to 3,745 as 566 patients were discharged from hospitals during the period, pushing up the recoveries to 50,377.
Meanwhile, the Prakasam district administration decided to rope in members of Self Help Groups(SHGs) in the fight against the respiratory disease. The SHG women would be given pulse oximeter to identify people suffering from low oxygen levels.
Catching those with low oxygen levels is crucial to treat even a mild case of COVID-19, while early check-up will also reduce mortality rate by taking those requiring critical care to hospitals immediately, Prakasam District Collector P.Bhaskar said while reviewing the health situation.
The staff of MEPMA in urban areas and Velugu project in rural areas would handle the distribution of the device to SHGs which could help in identifying persons with oxygen issue.