Virus cases in AP touch 164

Amaravati, Apr 3 (PTI): The total number of coronavirus cases in Andhra Pradesh increased to 164, with the addition of three cases from Friday morning, while the state government confirmed the death of a 55-year-old man, even as two patients got discharged after recovering from the disease.

It was the first death of a Corona patient in the state after the first case was reported on March 12.

With this, the number of active COVID-19 cases in the state currently stood at 159, according to the latest bulletin issued by the Medical and Health Department.

While 12 Corona positive cases were reported since Thursday night, three more were added to the tally till 10.30 PM.

Of the three cases, two were from East Godavari district and one from Visakhapatnam.

Five days after a 55-year-old man died in the government hospital in Vijayawada, the government on Friday confirmed that coronavirus was the cause of the death.

The man contracted the disease from his son, who returned from New Delhi after attending the Tablighi Jamaat congregation on March 17.

The man came to the government hospital at 11.30 AM on March 30 for health checkup. His blood swab was sent for examination and in the meantime he died around 12.30 pm. He was suffering from hypertension and cardiac problems besides being diabetic.

The delay in confirming whether or not he died of coronavirus affliction was because of his other ailments, state nodal officer Arja Srikanth said in a release.

The mans son tested positive for Covid-19 on March 31 and was kept in quarantine.

We have identified 29 others who came in contact with him and they were also sent to quarantine, Srikanth added.

A 23-year-old UK-returned youth in Ongole (the second case reported in the state) recovered from COVID-19 and was discharged from hospital after three blood tests turned negative.

Similarly, a 22-year-old who returned from the UK also recovered and was discharged from hospital in Kakinada. He was the fourth Covid-19 patient in the state.

Deputy Chief Minister (Health) A K K Srinivas said over 140 out of 164 Corona positive patients in AP related to the Jamaat.

Of the tested 881 blood samples of those who attended the Jamaat event, 108 turned positive. Results of another 65 cases are awaited. Also, 32 of their contacts too tested positive for coronavirus, Srinivas told reporters after a high-level review meeting with Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy.

The Deputy CM said of the 1,085 persons who attended the Jamaat event from AP, 946 had since returned while the rest 139 were still away.

Of the 946, only 881 have been traced so far, he added.

SPS Nellore district turned out to be the hotbed with the number of Corona cases climbing to 32, adding eight overnight.

In fact, the district saw the fastest spread of COVID-19 from three to 32 in a span of just two days.

Krishna district too witnessed a significant rise in Corona cases to 23, with Vijayawada city alone reporting 18.

Three major hotspots have been identified in the city where the prevalence of the disease was high and, accordingly, the authorities have clamped further restrictions on peoples movement, besides sanitising those areas.

The far-off north coastal districts of Srikakulam and Vizianagaram appear to be the safe zones in the state right now with not a single case of Corona reported from there.