COVID-19: AP logs highest-ever single-day spike of 12,634 cases, 69 deaths

The overall tally has touched 10.33 lakh in the state.

The state reported the highest- single-day COVID-19 deaths in the second wave on Sunday after 69 people succumbed to the infection. With this, the death toll has reached 7,625 in the state.

In the past 24 hours, Krishna district reported twelve COVID-19 deaths, followed by seven in Nellore, six each from East Godavari, Srikakulam, Visakhapatnam, West Godavari districts, five each from Anantapur, YSR Kadapa, four each from Chittoor and Guntur, three each from Prakasam and Vizianagaram and two from the Kurnool district.

The state tested 62,886 samples on Sunday. The state has tested a total of 1.59 crore samples. Chittoor district reported the highest single-day spike of 1,628 infections.

Meanwhile, the Andhra Pradesh health department has lined up 297 hospitals for COVID-19 services with a combined bed capacity of 27,000. During the peak of the first wave of the pandemic in 2020, AP had designated 261 hospitals with 35,000 bed capacity for COVID services.

The health department has renewed the concept of COVID care centers to treat mild cases in all the districts. As per the official data, only about 40 percent of the total beds have been occupied by the patients. But, the patients are still finding it difficult to get admission in Vizag, Vijayawada, Tirupati, and a few other cities and towns

The Andhra Pradesh government-appointed special officers exclusively to monitor the calls received at the COVID-19 emergency call center 104. Assistant collectors and senior officials were directed to stay at the district-level call centers and monitor the assistance provided to the patients. Similarly, the government has fixed the CT scan price at Rs.3000 and warned of stringent action if charged extra.