VIJAYAWADA: Racing closer to the two lakh mark, the coronavirus tally in Andhra Pradesh reached 1.96 lakh as another 10,328 cases were added in the 24 hours ending Thursday 9 am. The state also reported another 72 casualties, taking the toll to 1,753.
Meanwhile, the number of recoveries continued to be more than in active cases. As many as 8,516 more patients were discharged from COVID hospitals taking the total number of recoveries to 1,12,870, leaving 82,166 active cases.
According to a media bulletin issued by State Command Control Room on Thursday evening, 63,686 more samples were tested, including 32,739 Rapid Antigen tests. The total samples tested so far in the state stood at 22,99,332.
East Godavari, Kurnool and Anantapur continued to drive the state’s Covid graph. District-wise, East Godavari recorded the most fresh infections of 1,351, followed by Kurnool (1,285) and Anantapur (1,112); the least number of new cases was reported from Krishna district (363).
Three districts — East Godavari, Kurnool and Anantapur — have more than 20,000 cases each. As many as 27,580 have tested positive in East Godavari, followed by 23,348 in Kurnool and 21,173 in Anantapur. Prakasam has the lowest overall cases (7,256).
Among the 72 casualties reported in the 24 hours ending Thursday 9 am, East Godavari and Anantapur accounted for 10 deaths each, Guntur nine, Chittoor eight, Krishna, Nellore and Prakasam six each, Visakhapatnam four, Kadapa, Vizianagaram and West Godavari districts three each, and Kurnool and Srikakulam two each.
Energy minister infected
Energy Minister Balineni Srinivas Reddy has tested positive for Covid-19 and was admitted to Apollo Hospital in Hyderabad. In a press release, the minister said his health condition was stable and he was expecting to be back in action soon. Giddalur MLA Anna Rambabu and his wife have also tested positive and are in home quarantine.