VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh on Monday became the second state in India to record more than five lakh Covid-19 cases. It is only behind Maharashtra, which has reported 9.07 lakh cases.The first case in Andhra Pradesh was recorded on March 12, when a youngster who returned to Nellore from Europe tested positive for coronavirus.
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The number of cases rose to one lakh in about four months (by July 27), touched the two lakh mark within the next 11 days (August 7), and the three lakh mark in the subsequent 11 days (August 18). The tally touched four lakh by August 28, and took 10 more days to reach five lakh.
The state has a positivity rate of 12.16 per cent — the third-highest in the country. Maharashtra has the highest (19.49 per cent), followed by Chhattisgarh (16.33 per cent). Andhra Pradesh has conducted 41 lakh tests — the fourth-highest in the country. The top three spots are occupied by Uttar Pradesh (65 lakh), Tamil Nadu (52 lakh) and Maharashtra (46 lakh).
Recovery rate in AP over 79 per cent
Meanwhile, the State, which had been reporting more than 10,000 cases daily for more than 10 days, recorded 8,368 in the 24 hours ending Monday 9 am. In the same period, 58,187 samples were tested, according to a media bulletin released by the State Command Control Room. The total number of cases reported in the state is 5,06,493.
East Godavari, which recorded more than 1,000 cases again, stands at the top of the chart with 68,260 cases, followed by Kurnool (48,702) and Anantapur (45,884). The sudden surge of cases in the districts of East and West Godavari, Anantapur, Chittoor and Nellore significantly contributed to the increase in positive cases in the State in the past month. Districts like Krishna, Guntur and Kurnool, which were hotbeds of Covid-19, are witnessing a decline in the number of new cases.
In the 24 hours ending 9 am Monday, more than 10,000 Covid-19 patients in AP recovered, taking the total number of recoveries to more than four lakh, and containing the number of active cases at 97,932. Meanwhile, as many as 70 more people succumbed to the virus, taking the toll in the State to 4,487. Nellore district has reported the most casualties in the state (481), followed by East Godavari district (430).Andhra Pradesh has a recovery rate of 79.78 per cent, while the mortality rate is 0.89 per cent.