Andhra Pradesh records 12 new coronavirus cases: Total 161

Vijayawada: The number of COVID-19 cases in Andhra Pradesh has risen to 161, with 12 samples testing positive on Friday. Nellore district accounted for 8 of these new cases and Vizag district accounted for 3 and Kadapa district accounted for 1 of these new cases.

The Nellore district now has 32 infectees, the highest in the State. It is followed by Krishna district (23), Guntur (20), Kadapa (19), Prakasam (17), West Godavari (15), Vizag (14), Chittoor and East Godavari districts each 9 cases, Anantapur (2) and Kurnool (1).

The officials of Medical and Family Welfare Department said that most of the fresh cases related to the Tablighi Jamaat Congregation in New Delh. The temple town of Tirupati, meanwhile, recorded its first case on Thursday, with a person who returned from Delhi on March 24 and was in isolation since March 25, testing positive.

As many as 1,085 people from Andhra Pradesh has attended the prayers at Nizamuddin in New Delhi, and the respective district administrations are working to identify the them, as per the bulletin issued by State Nodal Officer Dr Arja Srikanth.

In Nellore, the district administration has started disinfecting the areas where the highest number of cases was reported in the state within few days. The administration also started working to set up additional isolation wards.

Krishna district has witnessed a surge of the number of cases, with eight people testing positive on Thursday, including five of a family in Vijayawada city.

So far Srikakulam and Vizianagaram districts (which were known for most underdeveloped) of state didn’t report any positive Covid-19 cases.

The officials said that two more testing labs will be set up in Guntur and Kadapa within a couple of days. Presently, tests are being conducted in Vijayawada, Tirupati, Kakinada and Anantapur.With the two new labs, the State will be able to test 570 samples in a day, as against its present capacity for 450 samples.