In a welcome development, new COVID cases fell by more than 1,000, although nine more patients succumbed to the coronavirus within 24 hours on the south coast of Andhra Pradesh.
Healthcare professionals who worked overtime treating the ever-growing number of patients had some relief as only 1,915 people were infected in the last 24 hours that ended at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, up from 2,958 the previous day Cases. The number of active cases remained high at 28,724.
The number of victims continued unabated as five people died of COVID in Prakasam and four in SPSR Nellore district during the reporting period. This increased the toll in the Prakasam district to 669 and in the SPSR Nellore district to 642.
Restores
The gap between new cases and recoveries narrowed to just under 500 as one in 1,000 patients in SPSR Nellore district and another 452 in Prakasam district made a recovery.
The arterial roads in Nellore and Ongole looked deserted when police enforced the 18-hour curfew. Meanwhile, patients rushing to hospitals with shortness of breath had difficulty getting oxygen-assisted beds. Some of them were seen arranging oxygen tanks / concentrators themselves while waiting to be admitted.
Kin of COVID victims stage protest
Friends and relatives of a 55-year-old patient who died while waiting to be admitted to the government hospital in Ongole protested, claiming the patient succumbed to the disease because of a delay in starting medical treatment.
Meanwhile, a Dubai-based NRI P. Mallikarjun of Singarayakonda, Prakasam district, donated £ 50,116 to the district police training center, which has been converted into a COVID Care Center (CCC) to provide corporate hospital-level treatment.
Prakasam Superintendent of the Police Siddharth Kaushal thanked Mr. Mallikarjun for the gesture towards the Prakasam police via video conference.