The state government has identified seven new containment clusters after 10 new cases were reported, taking the total number of clusters to 196 in of the state and sounded a red alert to contain the spread of coronavirus, principal secretary Jawahar Reddy informed on Saturday.

Addressing the daily briefing on the corona situation in the state, Jawahar Redd said three members of the same family in Srikakulam’s Pathapatnam were tested positive for the virus. One member the family came in contact with Tablighi Jamaat attendee in South Delhi’s Nizamuddin and that 67 people came in contact with members of this family. The contacts were being identified, 29 of them were sent to quarantine facilities in the state.

These containment clusters are largely in the urban and peri-urban areas, he said. The maximum containment clusters of 122 are in urban areas, 74 clusters are in rural areas. He said the government has recruited 1,270 doctors, a majority of them have been sent to the most affected districts such as Kurnool, Guntur and Krishna. Further, Jawahar Reddy said most patients were found to be suffering from hypoxia, a, form of oxygen deprivation caused by hypoxemia, which occurs when there are low oxygen levels in the blood. He said the patients are being managed with a device called a pulse oximeter that measures oxygen levels before the dip too low. “Their oxygen saturation levels are being tested, we are managing with pulse oximeters,” he informed.

On Friday, health special chief Secretary K S Jawahar Reddy said the state government is making all efforts to insulate the green zones from the effects of corona virus, while restricting cases in red zones. “Protect the green, restrict the red is the government’s motto,” he said. However, on Saturday Srikakulam entered the list of corona affected districts with three cases reported from the district.