As many as 931 new COVID-19 positive cases were reported in Visakhapatnam district, taking the cumulative tally to 22,929. Six persons from various areas succumbed to the virus in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll to 156 in the district.
As many as 887 persons have recovered from COVID-19 in the district in the same period.
As per the COVID-19 bulletin released by Special Officer for COVID-19 P.V. Sudhakar, the number of active cases in the district is 6,305 while the number of discharged persons stands at 16,468.
There are a total of 851 clusters in the district, of which 149 are classified as ‘very active’. The number of active and dormant clusters are 234 and 459 respectively.
Review meet
Collector V. Vinay Chand on Thursday said that the district would have 42 additional Primary Health Centres (PHCs) soon to cater to the medical needs of patients, and said that recruitment is being taken up. He added that 54 old ambulances are getting repaired and they would make use of them.
Mr. Vinay Chand was speaking to the Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Rajesh Bhushan, who conducted a video-conference with officials of Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra to review the COVID-19 situation, here on Thursday.
The Collector said that the district is following guidelines stringently for international arrivals at the Visakhapatnam airport and is ensuring that the passengers are abiding by quarantine protocols.
Earlier, Mr. Bhushan asked officials to increase testing capacity and asked them to take care of doctors and paramedical staff and make sure that they are not affected by COVID-19. He also stressed the usage of PPE kits and their proper disposal.
Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Lav Agarwal, stressed the need for surveillance of COVID-19 patients who are under home isolation. He said that if they do not take proper precautions, there are chances of the virus spreading to their family as well as others.
Principal Secretary (Health & Family Welfare) K.S. Jawahar Reddy from Vijayawada said that Andhra Pradesh has been conducting the most number of tests and added that recruitment of medical staff is also taking place on a large scale. He mentioned that the State has launched 1,088 new ambulances.
