VIJAYAWADA: The upward spiral of coronavirus cases continued in Andhra Pradesh as another 7,813 were added in a day to take the overall tally to 88,671 on Saturday. Both Godavari districts reported over 1,000 new infections each. Even as the toll is inching closer to the 1,000-mark, 3,208 more patients were discharged from hospitals across the state.
The state recorded another 52 deaths. Nine of the 52 victims were from Guntur, eight from West Godavari, six each from East Godavari, Krishna and Kurnool, five from Chittoor, four from Vizianagaram, three each from Srikakulam and Visakhapatnam, and one each from Nellore and Prakasam districts.
According to a media bulletin released by the State Command Control Centre, a total of 53,681 samples (27,955 through VRDL, TruNat and NACO, and 25,726 through Rapid Antigen) were tested in the 24 hours ending Saturday 9 am. While East Godavari recorded 1,324 fresh cases, making it the most-affected district in the state with a total of 12,391 infections, 1,012 more persons tested positive in West Godavari.
With another 742 cases, the aggregate in Kurnool district breached the 10,000-mark, making it the second district to cross the five-digit mark. Even as the tally in the district stood at 10,357, it has reported the highest number of Covid-19 deaths, with 156 persons succumbing to the virus, followed by Guntur (139) and East Godavari (113). Meanwhile, the 3,208 new recoveries took the overall figure to 43,225, leaving 44,431 active cases.