After reporting less than 2,000 cases on Friday giving temporary relief, COVID cases shot up again as more than 2,500 persons contracted the viral infection in South Coastal Andhra Pradesh in the last 24 hours.
The number of active cases climbed to 29,683 as 2,598 persons, including 1,515 Nellore district, tested positive for the disease, according to a health bulletin released by the State government late on Saturday.
A day after fresh cases came down to 385, Prakasam district reported a near three-fold rise with 1,083 cases. The only solace was that there were no casualties during the period. As a result, the death toll remained static at 669 in Prakasam, while Nellore’s toll rose to 649 with seven COVID-related casualties.
Meanwhile, more than 1,600 persons recovered during the period. Hospitals still overflowed with patients as the gap between fresh admissions and recoveries continued be high at over 1,000.
With the pandemic raging unabated, session sites across the two districts witnessed a heavy rush of people who jostled to take the jab. A majority of them had already taken taken the first dose and were waiting for the second dose.
In SPSR Nellore district, more than 9,700 took the jab till late on Saturday and in Prakasam, over 7,800 persons took the shot, health officials said.
As many as 10.54 lakh doses of vaccine have been administered in the two districts with SPSR Nellore district accounting for 5.46 doses and Prakasam for 5.08 doses, they added.
