The Andhra Pradesh police tracked a missing oxygen tanker and ensured its delivery on time, thereby saving the lives of nearly 400 patients on Friday. A Vijayawada-bound tanker carrying 18 tonnes of oxygen from Odisha went missing late Thursday. According to police, the oxygen supply was critical for nearly 400 patients undergoing treatment at the Government General Hospital in Vijayawada.
However, the tracking system failed and within minutes, Vijayawada Police Commissioner alerted all the Superintendents of Police who have jurisdiction on the Odisha-Vijayawada route. All the alerted units of Andhra Pradesh Police swung into action and traced the missing tanker to a dhaba in Dharmavaram in East Godavari district.
Investigation revealed that the driver had stopped at the dhaba due to fatigue caused by the number of trips he was making. Understanding the situation, orders were given by officials to the local police to ensure that an experienced home guard accompanies the driver throughout the journey and that the tanker is escorted to the destination using the 'green channel'. Thanks to this, the oxygen reached GGH Vijayawada on time.
Meanwhile, the state recorded 17,188 new COVID-19 cases and 73 more deaths on Friday. The fresh fatalities pushed the state's cumulative death toll to 8,519 while the case tally rose to 12,45,374. The number of active cases in the state now stands at 1,86,695.
As per the medical bulletin, 10 people each succumbed to the virus in Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam district. East Godavari reported eight deaths followed by seven in Chittoor, six each in Guntur, and Krishna, five each in Kurnool, Prakasam, and West Godavari, two each in Nellore and Srikakulam and two in Anantapur district.
According to state health officials, the government and private laboratories in the state tested 1,00,424 samples during the 24-hour period ending at 10 am on Friday. The state has so far conducted 1,71,60,870 tests.
On Friday, Andhra reported saw 12,749 people recovering from the virus. The cumulative number of recoveries has gone up to 10,50,160.