There was no relief for people from coronavirus in South Coastal Andhra Pradesh as 19 more patients succumbed to the infection while 2,542 persons contracted the disease in a span of 24 hours.
For the first time in the second wave of the pandemic, the two districts collectively reported 19 deaths(10 in Prakasam and 9 in SPSR Nellore) in a period of 24 hours, taking the toll to one short of 1490 in the region. Meanwhile, the recovery rate fell to a new low of 79.04%.
With over 2,000 cases every day for the past few days, the active caseload crossed the 42,000 mark in the region. On Friday, 1,296 persons in Prakasam district and another 1,246 persons in SPSR Nellore district tested positive for the disease in the last 24 hours ending 9 a.m. on Friday, according to a health bulletin released by the State government on Friday night. With this, the overall coronavirus cases tally crossed the 2.07 lakh mark.
Pressure on health professionals increased as more and more people rushed to designated hospitals in a critical condition.
New infections outnumbered recoveries by over 700 as only 1,320 patients in Nellore district and 484 patients in Prakasam district were cured of the disease.