ONGOLE: Prakasam has been experiencing an abnormal surge in Covid-19 positive cases as a total of 565 infections were reported in the last two weeks, pushing the overall caseload to 62,863.
With 54 cases emerging on Monday, the active cases in the district rose to 627. As many as 237 of the 627 patients have been hospitalised, while the rest are in home isolation. On Sunday, 81 cases emerged, the highest one-day surge in a fortnight.
In view of the severity of the Covid-19 second wave, health officials in the district have been asked to increase the bed capacity to 5,000 with immediate effect. While Ongole-GGH (RIMS) has 500 beds reserved for Covid-19 patients, another 760 beds are available in area hospitals.
Meanwhile, the spike in Ongole has been significant as 180 active cases are in the city alone. On Monday, collector Pola Bhaskar conducted an emergency meeting with the Covid-19 task force committee and directed them to identify new Covid-treatment centres similar to the period of the first wave. “Primarily, the focus should be on adding another 1,000 beds for the Covid-19 patients. Then, the bed strength should be increased as per the requirement,” he said.