The worst fears of experts are coming true. Andhra Pradesh is witnessing a wave of infections after easing lockdown restrictions in line with the national trend.
In the last 24 hours, the state has reported a whopping 491 fresh cases, pushing the total number of cases to 8,425.
The number of fatalities is also on the rise. At least five people succumbed to Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of deaths due to corona to 101.
A total of 22,371 people were tested in the last 24 hours, of which 491 tested positive. Of the 491 positive cases, 390 are locals triggering fears of community transmission. Around 83 tested positive are from other states, while 18 have travel history. Thousands of migrant workers from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat and Odisha returned to Andhra Pradesh.
On Friday, Andhra Pradesh reported the highest single-day surge in COVID-19 cases with an alarming number of 465 people testing positive for the infection in the last 24 hours, while four people died of the virus during the period.
The Andhra Pradesh government has declared lockdown in parts of Anantapur, Prakasam and Srikakulam as the corona infections are on the rise. The number of infections crossed the 500 mark in Anantapur district. In view of this, the district collector has declared complete lockdown in Dharamvaram, Tadipatri, Yadiki, Pamidi, Hindupur, Kadiri, Guntakal division of Anantapur district. In Prakasam, the number of infections crossed 296. In Ongole alone, there are nearly 70 cases, 40 in Chirala. The district collector had declared complete lockdown in Ongole and Chirala. On the other hand, Srikakulam which was the only district that remained in the green zone for more than two months has been witnessing an increase in positive Covid-19 cases with a large number of migrant workers returning. Although the situation is not alarming in Srikakulam, there are at least 12 containment zones. On June 16, the district also reported first Covid-19 death after a 50-year-old man from Mandasa succumbed to corona following which Mandasa was put on a high alert. In view of this, lockdown has been declared in Mandasa.
