COVID-19: AP's positivity rate surges to 29% in just 10 days
COVID-19 cases in Srikakulam rose by three times on Friday as the district reported 1,230 cases. On Thursday, it had reported only 464 cases.
By Amrutha Kosuru Published on 21 Jan 2022 3:05 PM GMT
Amaravati: In the last 10 days, the test positivity rate (TPR) in Andhra Pradesh rose from 5% to 29%. Meanwhile, Visakhapatnam continues to see a surge in COVID-19 cases. Out of 13,212 persons who tested positive for the virus in the state on Thursday, Visakhapatnam reported the highest number of cases.
The Visakhapatnam district has been seeing a surge in cases recently. From only 295 cases on 11 January, the district currently has 2,244 cases. Visakhapatnam, a prime tourist destination, saw a high tourist footfall during Sankranthi. This combined with little to no precautions may have contributed to the rise in cases.
But it is Chittoor district that currently has the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the state. On 11 January, the district had only 467 cases but by 20 January, the cases had risen to a staggering 2,338. On 21 January, however, there was a slight decrease in the cases as the district reported 1,585 cases.
According to health officials, the surge in cases in Chittoor is because it falls on the Andhra-Karnataka border and because the number of COVID-19 cases in Karnataka is high.
Additionally, the number of samples being tested in Andhra Pradesh is also considerably low. While the Telangana government has started collecting approximately one lakh samples a day since the surge in cases, the number of samples being collected in Andhra Pradesh hasn't even crossed 50,000 per day. On Thursday, the state COVID-19 common control room reported that only 44,516 samples were collected.
During the festival season, several people had travelled from urban areas such as Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, and Vijayawada to the rural areas of the state. With the urban areas already observing a rise in COVID-positive cases, it is possible that the travel during the festive season led to a rise in cases in rural districts.
COVID-19 cases in Srikakulam rose by three times on Friday as the district reported 1,230 cases. On Thursday, it had reported only 464 cases.
According to the health officials, there has been a surge in COVID-19 cases driven by the Omicron variant. The state has deputed 12 officers from all departments to form teams to handle the COVID-19 situation. The officials said that every house has at least one COVID-positive patient. The cases are expected to increase further in the coming weeks.
