ONGOLE: People of Chinna Nandipadu of Parchur mandal were worried as a woman, who tested positive for coronavirus after her death in Guntur on Sunday, was cremated in the Prakasam village a day later. As the villagers were told the news of her infection on Tuesday, it caused panic among the people who attended the funeral and 30 of the 50 attendees were quarantined.
Meanwhile, Prakasam district is again witnessing a sudden spike in Covid-19 cases as 19 more persons were reported to have been infected till Thursday morning. Among the new patients, two had returned from Chennai and one from Mumbai; two more persons were identified through contact tracing.
District Covid-19 nodal officer Dr John Richard said as some of the patients were from other districts, a discussion between officials was underway to send them to their respective districts. The new cases are from Yerragondapalem, Addanki, Markapur, Kanigiri, P Pothavaram (Naguluppalapadu mandal), Kandukuru, Chevuru (Gudluru), Santha Ravur (Chinna Ganjam), Takkilapadu (Kanigiri), Chirala, Jarugumalli and Mangamuru Road in Ongole. Meanwhile, 15 more persons were discharged, bringing down the active cases in the district to 45. A total of 146 people have been affected by the virus in Prakasam till now.