Guntur sees spike in cases

One death, 17 cases in single day turns focus on A.P. city, Kerala reports 10 cases

12/04/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM/BENGALURU/VIJAYAWADA/HYDERABAD

The death of one person with COVID-19 in Guntur in Andhra Pradesh and a spike in cases in that city marked the progression of the viral infection on Saturday, with about 100 new cases being reported in the southern States. Data from Telangana were awaited.

COVID-19 positive cases in Andhra Pradesh crossed the 400-mark on Saturday with 24 new cases reported from four districts. There were 17 new cases in Guntur on Saturday.

Kerala’s Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan hoped that a low rate of disease transmission would help the State, which is projected to reach a critical phase over the next three to four weeks.

The number of people who were newly testing positive for COVID-19 seemed to be on the decline, while the number of those testing negative after treatment was up, he told the media.

On Saturday, 10 new cases were reported in Kerala, three of them with history of foreign travel. The rest were primary contacts of imported cases. Seven new cases were in Kannur, two at Kasaragod and one at Kozhikode. The State total for positive cases was 373, and 228 were under treatment.

The State has so far tested samples of 14,163 persons, of which 12,818 results had been negative.

Mr. Vijayan said while focusing on containing COVID-19, one should not lose sight of other diseases, and those patients should not suffer. District Collectors had been asked to remove “disinfectant tunnels” set up in public places, he said.

The Public Works department was continuing to identify and list rooms with attached bathrooms across the State, which could be used as isolation rooms, should a situation arise. Already over 2.5 lakh rooms had been identified, of which 1.10 lakh room were ready to be used. Local bodies were also being asked to identify empty houses or apartments within their jurisdiction.

Mysuru cluster

Mysuru in Karnataka had five fresh cases on Saturday, and added to another five from the day before, the city was seen as an emerging cluster. The source of infection in the first case from a pharma company in the district was not identified.

Eight new cases were reported in Karnataka on Saturday, taking the total number to 215, according to official data. A 10-month-old baby, the youngest patient in Karnataka in Mangaluru was discharged.

Of Saturday’s new cases, apart from the five in Mysuru, the others included a 32-year-old private doctor, who got the infection from a patient, and a 10-year-old boy.