The number of COVID-19 positive cases in the district shot past the 1000-mark at a worryingly rapid pace, going from a total of 143 cases on June 6 to 1,055 cases on Thursday.
The district reported 79 fresh cases and two deaths in the last 24 hours alone, taking the total casualties from five to seven.
With the new cases, the total number of positive cases recorded so far has jumped from 976 to 1,055. The number of active cases rose to 646, with 31 people being discharged on Thursday. The total number of discharges rose from 371 as of Wednesday to 402.
Unlock impact
Both persons who died on Thursday were from Visakhapatnam city limits, officials said.
One of the deceased owns a medical shop in the city, according to sources.
Officials opine that opening up the city post the lockdown has led to the sharp spike in cases. Statistics support this claim, going by the eight-fold or roughly 600% rise in COVID-19 cases beginning from June 1 till date.
“On June 6, the number of coronavirus cases in the district stood at only 143, lower than what we had feared. However, our worst fears came true as cases began spiking sharply ever since the lockdown ended, with the total count now going up to 1,055 in a span of only 25 days,” officials said.
In the last two days (June 1 and 2), the district has recorded over 150 cases. On average, we are reporting 50 cases a day on a daily basis for the last 10 to 12 days, an official from the health department said.
Violations galore
According to District COVID-19 Special Officer and Principal of Andhra Medical College P.V. Sudhakar, there is bound to be a spike primarily due to the increased movement of people and many not adhering to the basic protocols such as wearing masks and maintaining physical distancing.
“More cases are coming to light because of increased focus on testing. So far, we have conducted close to 79,000 cases. Of them, over 77,000 tested negative,” he said.
The ‘very active clusters’ rose from 78 to 92 in a day, while active ones rose from 89 to 92. Fifty-two are dormant clusters while 28 have been de-notified.
