AP witnesses highest daily toll of 69 this year, 12,634 new cases  

VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh reported a sharp spike in fatalities with 69 patients succumbing to Covid-19 in the 24 hours ending Sunday 9 am. This is the highest number of single-day fatalities reported this year. The State witnessed a steep rise in fatalities in August last year and from September, the number declined and even reached a single digit by December.

With the surge in daily count from March this year, the fatalities too are on the rise. Compared to Saturday’s 37, the toll jumped to 69 on Sunday. Krishna reported the highest number of 12 deaths, followed by Nellore with seven, East Godavari, Srikakulam, Visakhapatnam and West Godavari six each, Anantapur and Kadapa five each, Chittoor and Guntur four each, Prakasam and Vizianagaram three each and Kurnool two. The Covid toll increased to 7,685. Chittoor recorded the highest toll of 948, while Vizianagaram reported the lowest number of 250 fatalities. 

The total tests increased to more than 62,000 from 50,000-odd the previous day. As many as 1,59,94,607 samples have been tested in the State so far. The new infections went past 12,000 in the past 24 hours, taking the cumulative total to more than 10.33 lakh. Seven districts of the State reported more than 1,000 new infections each. Srikakulam reported the highest daily count of  1,680, followed by Chittoor with 1,628.  The lowest count of 219 was reported in Kadapa.

Except for marginal decrease in new infections in Guntur, Kadapa and Prakasam, all the 10 other districts reported more new cases than the previous day. With the spike in Covid cases, the overall tally of Anantapur went past 76,000, while the count of Guntur surged past 95,000. Kurnool breached the 72,000-mark, while Nellore crossed the 74,000-mark. The tally of Visakhapatnam increased to 73,737. The recoveries stood at 4,304, which is less than Saturday’s number. The overall recoveries surged past 9.36 lakh. The active caseload is nearing 90,000. Chittoor and Srikakulam have more than 10,000 active cases each, while West Godavari has the lowest caseload of a little over 1,500.