Pandemic curve gets steeper during Unlock 1.0

Six districts report more than 80% of their cases between June 2 and 30

A cyclist on his way to work in the One Town area in Vijayawada on Wednesday, where the government imposed restrictions in view of spurt in cases.

With the announcement of Unlock-1 on June 1 and the relaxations that followed in most of the areas outside the containment zones, the COVID-19 cases witnessed a sharp rise in the State.

Of the 14,959 cases registered as of Tuesday, 11,024 (74%) were in the month of June. Similarly, of the 12,202 cases of local residents getting infected in the districts, 9,160 (70%) were registered in June.

On June 1, Kurnool district had over 500 cases. But, by the end of the month, six districts reported over 1,000 cases each, and Kurnool is close to breaching the 2,000-mark.

Nearly half of the total local cases reported between June 2 and 30 were from Anantapur, Kurnool, Krishna and East Godavari districts. The data pertaining to the new cases district-wise on June 1 was not available.

The districts that reported more than 80% of their local cases during the period June 2 and 30 were as follows: West Godavari 89%; Kadapa 87%; Anantapur 86%; Vizianagaram 83%; Visakhapatnam 81%; and East Godavari 80%.

Fatalities

Surprisingly, Nellore district, which had reported the first COVID-19 case in the State, witnessed only 58% rise in the tally, the least in the State, during the period. In the remaining districts, the percentage varied between 63% and 79%.

The number of fatalities (123) too had gone up by 65% in June. Most of them were reported in Krishna and Kurnool districts.