Srikakulam district saw its active caseload shooting up to 9,247, with 1,017 cases being reported on Friday alone.
The district’s overall caseload now stands at 58,152.
Currently, 7,625 patients are in home isolation while 768 persons were admitted to hospital. As many as 854 persons have been admitted to COVID Care Centres.
With the unprecedented number of daily positive cases, the district administration is struggling to arrange more beds at hospitals. At present, only 2,026 beds are available at COVID-19 designated hospitals. At least 5,000 beds are needed immediately in the district to handle the situation.
Economic activity saw a sharp downturn in the district, with commercial establishments including nationalised banks limiting their hours of functioning.
Srikakulam Lead Bank Manager G.B.B.D. Hariprasad said banks would remain open only from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and urged customers to cooperate with the staff. Srikakulam Cloth Merchants Association leader Patnala Srinivasa Rao urged all shop owners to close their establishments by 6 p.m. every day to minimise the spread of COVID-19 in the district.
BJP Tekkali unit convener Hanumanthu Udaybhaskar urged Collector J. Nivas to take up a special sanitation drive in villages as many migrant labourers had returned from major cities like Mumbai and Delhi where the pandemic has wreaked havoc in recent weeks.
