Doctors, policeman among new COVID-19 cases in Andhra Pradesh

Frontline workers engaged in the battle against the spread of COVID-19, including doctors, were among the fresh cases of the virus reported from Andhra Pradesh on Saturday (April 25), where overall number crossed the 1,000-mark. Two fatalities were reported, taking the toll to 31. AP’s overall positive cases of coronavirus stood at 1,016 on Saturday.

In Kurnool, two doctors working in the government general hospital and a police sub-inspector (SI) in Vijayawada city tested positive for the deadly virus, official sources said. Further, in Vijayawada, a police sub-inspector and 60 personnel were placed under quarantine.

A scare was triggered in the State Covid Command Control Centre in Vijayawada after a biomedical engineer working there tested positive on Friday. Government officials, right from the Special Chief Secretary (Health), have been functioning from this premises for over a month now, monitoring the corona management measures across the state.

Five other colleagues of the biomedical engineer, however tested negative for the virus. These staffers were attached to the Andhra Pradesh Medical Services and Infrastructure Development Corporation.

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The latest government bulletin said 26 patients were discharged from hospitals after recovery.

Significantly, the north coastal district of Srikakulam also joined the list on Saturday, registering its first three cases after remaining free of the infection all these days. The district did not report a single case of COVID-19 till Friday, sources added.

After Kurnool and Guntur districts, Krishna is now fast becoming the pandemic’s hotbed in the state as 25 fresh cases were registered in the last 24 hours. There was no let-up in corona spread in Kurnool as 14 more cases were added, taking the total to 275.

Incidentally, the two districts registered one new COVID-19 death each, the bulletin said. Vizianagaram is now the only district in AP not to be affected by COVID-19, yet. Anantapuramu registered five fresh cases in the last 24 hours, followed by Kadapa and SPS Nellore with four each and East Godavari and Guntur districts three each.

AP is now second to Tamil Nadu in number of COVID-19 cases but top in the number of deaths (31) in south India, with the former reporting 1,755 cases and 22 deaths as of Friday.

According to official sources, the state is at the bottom among five southern states in terms of recovery rate with 16.8 per cent. While Kerala is on top with 73.6 per cent recovery, Tamil Nadu comes next with 49.3 per cent.

AP still has 814 “active” coronavirus cases after the discharge of 171 patients and death of 31. Between Friday and Saturday, 6,928 samples were tested, the highest per day count so far, while the aggregate number of tests till date was 61,266.

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