Sixteen more patients succumbed to coronavirus in south-coastal Andhra Pradesh, taking the combined death toll in the districts of Nellore and Prakasam to 283 in the last 24 hours.
The toll in Prakasam district alone increased to 152 with six deaths, according to a health bulletin released by the State Government on Friday night.
Ten more patients lost the battle against the virus in Nellore district, taking the toll in the district to 131.
The spread of the virus refused to abate in the region as 669 more persons contracted the disease in Nellore district. In Praksam district, 300 more persons got infected during the same period.
On the bright side, the number of discharged patients outnumbered the number of fresh admissions into COVID-19 hospitals by 201.
While 916 patients were cured of the virus in Nellore district, 254 patients were discharged from hospitals in Prakasam district at a time when the health authorities worked overtime to treat the over 9,000 active cases in the two districts.
In Prakasam district, Ongole continued to bear the brunt of the pandemic with 53 more persons getting infected in the last 24 hours. Two persons from the Deputy Transport Commissioner's office were among those who tested positive.
Addanki town emerged as a COVID-19 hotspot after accounting for 35 new cases, while the remote village of Ulavapadu registered 17 new cases. New cases came from across the district including Podili (12), Kandukur (12), Chirala (9), V.V. Palem (8), Giddalur (7) and Chinnaganjam (7).
