COVID-19: Andhra Pradesh becomes third state in India to record 3 lakh cases

Vijayawada: The number of COVID-19 cases in Andhra Pradesh crossed the three lakh mark after it reported 9,652 new cases on 18 August taking the total tally to 3,06,261. Meanwhile, the death toll rose to 2,820 following 88 new fatalities.

Andhra Pradesh now has become the third state, after Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, to record three lakh COVID-19 cases.

AP reported its first COVID-19 case on 12 March. The number of cases in the state crossed 50,000 on 20 July and by 27 July it had breached the one lakh mark. It took just 11 days for the state to add another one lakh cases and the total surged to two lakh on 7 August. In another 11 days, the state has breached the three lakh mark.

On a positive note, 9,211 COVID-19 recoveries were reported in the state on Tuesday. So far, 2,18,311 people have recovered from the virus. Andhra Pradesh now has 85,130 active cases. East Godavari district has reported 42,600 cases as of now, followed by Kurnool with 34,782 cases and Anantapur district which has seen 30,507 cases.

In the past 24 hours (from 9 a.m Monday to 9 a.m Tuesday), the state conducted 56,090 tests. So far, 29,61,611 samples have been tested in the state. The infection positivity rate also rose to 10.34 per cent in AP.

Of the 88 deaths reported on Tuesday, 14 were from Chittoor district and 11 from Prakasam. Nine deaths each were reported in Anantapur, Guntur, and Kurnool districts. Nellore reported seven deaths, West Godavari six, while Srikakulam, Visakhapatnam, and Vizianagaram saw five deaths each. East Godavari, meanwhile, reported four deaths, Krishna three, and Kadapa one.