There was no relief for people with coronavirus on the south coast of Andhra Pradesh as 12 more patients succumbed to the disease, which continued to spread rapidly and rapidly in the region on Wednesday.
The number of active cases quickly rose to a high of 17,345 as 2,605 people contracted the infection in the past 24 hours that ended at 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday. This emerges from a health bulletin published by the state government.
Death toll
The total rose to over 1.49 lakh when 1,926 people in SPSR Nellore district and 679 people in Prakasam were infected during the reporting period. The number of victims in the region rose to 1,219, with nine patients in the SPSR Nellore district and three other prakasam losing the battle against the disease.
The normally busy Bapuji Market Complex and Gandhi Street in Ongole looked deserted as shops and other business establishments rolled down their shutters at 2 p.m. Parks and playgrounds have been closed to prevent further spread.
The recovery rate drops
The number of new cases was a whopping 2,100 higher in a single day as only 444 patients, including 166 in the Prakasam district, recovered in the region in the past 24 hours. The recovery rate, which was 99% last month, dropped to 88.8% on Wednesday.
There were long queues at several meeting venues in the area as people crowded to take the push.
More than 8,000 people attended the 94 meeting venues in Prakasam until late Wednesday. This is evident from reports received by health officials here from the meeting venues. People who attended 30 meeting venues in Prakasam returned disappointed after vaccine supplies ran out. So far, people have been given 4.17 lakh doses of vaccine, said Fr. Ratnavalli, Prakasam District Medical and Health Officer. Up to 3.33 lakh had taken the first dose, and over 83,000 people had taken two doses of vaccine in the district to date, she said.
MP arranges oxygen bottles
In a kind gesture, Ongole MP Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy volunteered to bring 14 oxygen cylinders from Chennai to Government General Hospital every day to help patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome.
COVID-19 knot officer John Richardson, who monitored patient health at the GGH in Ongole, said there was no shortage of beds, although large numbers of new cases had to be fed in daily. The hospital had enough medicines, including remdesivir, to treat serious patients, he added.