JOIN USAndhra Pradesh records new single-day high of 1,933 cases, 19 deaths
A new daily record of 1,933 cases pushed the coronavirus tally in Andhra Pradesh to 29,168 on Sunday. The Covid-19 toll escalated to 328 as the state reported a fresh single-day high of 19 deaths, the government said in its latest bulletin.
In the last 24 hours ended at 10 AM, a total of 846 patients were discharged from hospitals upon recovering from the infection, it said. So far, 15,412 coronavirus infected patients had recovered in the state, leaving 13,428 active cases.
The gross 29,168 positive cases included 26,336 locals, 2,403 from other states and 429 foreign returnees. Guntur district now crossed the 3,000 mark, with 3,019 cases behind Kurnool (3,405) and Anantapuramu (3,290). The state so far tested 11,53,849 samples with a positivity rate of 2.53 per cent but the recovery rate slumped to 52.84 per cent.
The mortality rate remained at 1.12 per cent, as per the government statistics. Meanwhile, there were widespread complaints about poor quality of food being provided to patients and bad sanitation in government-run Covid-19 hospitals.
"Based on the complaints, the Chief Minister has directed that the Joint Collector (Development) in each district be made the nodal officer to check the quality of food and also sanitation in hospitals.
"The government is spending Rs 500 per head, per day, on food so it should be of that (high) quality, state Covid-19 nodal officer and Principal Secretary M T Krishna Babu said. The government has ordered third-party random checks to monitor the food quality and ensure consistency and quality, besides standardisation of the menu. We are taking the help of IRCTC in packing the food in a proper manner, Krishna Babu said.