Andhra Pradesh has inched closer to unseat Delhi to clinch the dubious third ranking in the highest number of Covid-19 cases in the country.
In the last 24 hours, AP reported 10,1617 Covid-19 cases beating its own record. . This is the highest single-day spike witnessed by any state in the country.
On Wednesday, the state had registered 10,093 coronavirus infections. With 10,1617 new corona infections, AP’s total caseload stood 1,30,557 as against Delhi’s total number of infections at 1,33,310.
That AP will breach Delhi’s caseload is a given, but the pace at which the cases are rising in the state, it won’t be surprising if AP will unseat Tamil Nadu to claim the rank of the second worst-hit pandemic state in the country sooner than later.
For the fourth straight week, Andhra Pradesh also witnessed a record spike in the death toll due to the viral infection. In the last 24 hours, the state has reported 68 deaths taking the tally to 1,281. East Godavari and Guntur recorded nine deaths each while Anatapur, Kurnool and Visakhapatnam reported eight deaths each, Chittoor and Kadapa registered six deaths each, Prakasam (4), Vizianagaram (4), Krishna (3), Nellore (1), Srikakulam (1) and West Godavari (1).
The growing number of fatalities is a cause for serious concern even as Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy remarked that “we have to learn to live with the virus and that every single person will be infected.” His remarks came under sharp criticism from his own party MP Raghurama Krishna Raju who advised him to desist from making such statements as it would erode the public confidence in the government.
East Godavari continued to be the hotspot in Andhra Pradesh reporting the highest number of infections in the state. In the last 24 hours, the district reported 1,441 positive cases followed by Kurnool (1,251).
In the last 24 hours, 70,068 tests were conducted and 10,1617 were tested positive for Covid-19. The number of active cases stands at 65,252. Around 60,002 Covid-19 patients recovered and were discharged from various hospitals in the state. Further, the government has conducted a total of 18,90,077 tests.
Andhra Pradesh had recently surged past that of Karnataka, making it the fourth worst-hit Covid-19 state in the country. Only Maharashtra (400651 cases), Tamil Nadu (23,4114) and Delhi (1,33,310) have reported more cases than Andhra Pradesh. AP emerged as the fastest state with its Covid cases rising from 50,000 to 1 lakh in just 7 days. Maharashtra took 19 days, Tamil Nadu 16 days, Delhi 18 days and Karnataka 11 days. By the time AP crossed 1 lakh mark, it conducted 16.4 lakh tests, Maharashtra 6.2 lakh tests, Tamil Nadu 12.7 lakh, Delhi 6.4 lakh and Karnataka 12 lakh.
