COVID: Steady rise in daily count causes concern in Andhra Pradesh

VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh reported a sharp spike of 1,730 Covid-19 cases in the 24 hours ending Sunday 9 am, which is the highest daily count since November 12, 2020. The number of active cases in the State surged past 10,000, the highest caseload after November 29, 2020, due to the surge in new infections from early March. State Covid Nodal Officer Dr Arja Srikanth said the spike is the highest in the past few days and the loss of five lives in the 24 hours span should be taken as a warning. 

The Nodal Officer urged people to strictly follow the Covid guidelines issued by the government to prevent the spread of the virus. “Do not forget to follow the three mandatory rules — use of face mask, maintaining physical distance and frequent cleaning of hands. Do not be negligent and feel it is as a social responsibility to protect yourself and your family from Covid-19,’’ Dr Srikanth said, and appealed to the people to get vaccinated themselves against virus at their nearest government hospital. 

With the daily count of 1,730, the total Covid cases in the State went past 9.07 lakh-mark. Apart from the four Covid hotspot districts of Guntur, Chittoor, Visakhapatnam and Krishna, Nellore also reported more than 100 new infections.

Guntur topped the list with 378 new cases, followed by Chittoor 338, Visakhapatnam 235, Krishna 226 and Nellore 164. The five districts accounted for more than 1,300 of the total 1,730 cases. The lowest daily count of 10 new infections was recorded in West Godavari. With the spike in new infections, the overall tally in Guntur surged past the 79,000-mark. The total count of Kadapa crossed the 56,000- mark, while Krishna breached the 51,000-mark. 

On the other hand, the new recoveries were not even 50 per cent of the daily count. Now, the State has 10,300 active cases with four districts having more than 1,000 cases each. Chittoor has the highest caseload of 1,891, while the number of active cases in Vizianagaram is the lowest, 164. More than 8.90 lakh people have recovered from coronavirus so far.Five more infectees, three from Chittoor and one each from Nellore and Visakhapatnam, succumbed to the virus,  taking the toll to 7,239.