Health officials were on their toes as 177 more patients, 96 in Prakasam district and 81 in SPSR Nellore district tested positive for the disease on Monday.
With this, the number of positive cases went up to 2,376 in Prakasam district with 44 getting discharged. Five new containment clusters were added to the existing 37 very active and 116 active ones. The viral disease spread to more villages, including Arthaveedu, Pulalacheruvu, P.C.Palli, C.S.Puram, H.M.Padu, K.K.Mitla, Kumarole and Veligantla.
Five of the 114 migrants-- two each from Tamil Nadu and Telangana and one from West Bengal also tested positive. Ongole had highest number of 502 confirmed cases as 11 more patients tested positive.
Flagging off ‘Sanjeevini’, the mobile testing facility in Nellore, Water Resources Minister P.Anil Kumar Yadav noted with concern the steady rise in positive cases with even doctors, police personnel and other government staff and scribes contracting the disease. At a time 10 persons could undergo testing from the specially-designed facility, he said.
He underscored the need for tracing all the primary and secondary contacts of the infected persons and subject them to testing to provide them treatment early.
Doling out advice, Dr. Anil Kumar said people should keep their masks on while stepping out and washing hands frequently with sanitisers should become part of their hygiene etiquette. He also suggested using more turmeric in food to boost one’s immunity.
‘Situation may worsen’
Nellore District Collector K.V.N. Chakradhara Babu anticipated that the number of new cases would go up in the coming weeks and wanted the officials concerned to get ready for a challenging situation. The district’s tally stands at 2,735 with 31 discharges as on Monday.
