It was a hectic day for health workers who scrambled to administer the COVID vaccine in the remote villages of Prakasam and Nellore districts to break the chain as more than 100 persons tested positive in the South Coastal Andhra Pradesh in a span of 24 hours.
With this, the number of active cases rose to 559 in the region. The number of active cases shot up to 332 in SPSR Nellore district as 84 new cases were reported in the last 24 hours, a health bulletin issued by the State government said on Sunday evening.
In Prakasam district, 35 new cases took the number of active cases in the district to 227. Ongole alone accounted for 14 new cases including four persons who reportedly tested positive to the UK variant of the virus. A 73-year-old man from Chinnaganjam and a five-year-old girl from Ongole were among those who tested positive in the district during the period.
Worried over the spurt in cases, the health personnel fanned out to 176 Public Health centres in the two districts to provide vaccine to all eligible persons at the grassroots level on a saturation basis.
Overseeing the vaccination drive being taken up at 90 session sites, Prakasam District Medical and Health Officer P. Ratnavalli said from Monday, the drive would be undertaken in one ward each in all urban local bodies. As many as 4,702 persons were vaccinated in SPSR Nellore district and another 1,945 persons in Prakasam district by the evening.
Meanwhile, the tally rose to 1.25 lakh in the region, where the recovery rate dipped to 98.68%. The death toll remained unchanged at 1,091.
Fines imposed
The Prakasam police are cracking the whip to ensure COVID-appropriate behaviour among motorists as complacency had set in when the incidence of the viral disease was on the decline. Over 3,000 cases were registered across the district against those not wearing face masks. After collecting more than ₹ 3.06 lakh as fine, the personnel distributed face masks to motorists.
