South Coastal A.P. reports 12 deaths, 2,742 cases in a day

Special cell formed to implement control measures at grassroots level

A COVID patient being shifted to the isolation ward of Government General Hospital in Ongole .

The single-day coronavirus infection tally and related deaths continued to rise in South Coastal Andhra Pradesh even as the recoveries improved a bit in the last 24 hours ending on 9 a.m. on Thursday.

Twelve patients —seven in Prakasam district and five in Nellore district, succumbed to the infection during the period, taking the total toll to 1,470.

The number of active cases rose to 41,332 as 2,742 persons tested positive during the period. With this, the cumulative tally crossed the 2.05-lakh mark. However, 1,945 patients were recovered from the infection during the period.

Recovery count improves

For the first time, the number of recoveries outnumbered fresh admissions by more than 200 in Nellore district in the last 24 hours. As many as 1,219 persons tested positive while 1,443 patients were recuperated during the period.

In contrast, Prakasam district had three times more number of new cases when compared to recoveries. The district reported a single-day tally of 1,523 infection, while 502 patients were recovered during the period.

Nellore Collector K.V.N. Chakradhar Babu advised the patients to undergo treatment at COVID Care Centres (CCCs) instead of putting them in home isolation. THE COVID Care Centres are equipped to provide the advanced healthcare services including oxygen therapy, he said.

The Collectors also exhorted the corporate sector to take a cue from Aurobindo Pharma Foundation which donated 50 oxygen concentrators worth ₹40 lakh to various COVID Care Centres being run with the support from firms like APGENCO, SHAR Centre, Krishnapatnam Port and etc.

Meanwhile, Prakasam Collector P. Bhaskar constituted a special cell to combat the virus by appointing 73 teams to effectively implement the COVID control measures at the grassroots level by roping in government school teachers.

Vaccine for journalists

The Collector urged all journalists to enrol their names with Information and Publicity Department in the next two days to get vaccine doses on a priority basis.