AP govt asks patients with severe COVID-19 symptoms to get admitted regardless of testing

Even as Unlock 4 begins, Andhra Pradesh’s total COVID-19 cases recently surpassed those in Tamil Nadu, making it India’s second worst-hit state after Maharashtra. As of Tuesday, the state had registered a total of 4,45,139 cases. However, the mortality rate stood at 0.9 per cent, with 4,053 deaths recorded as of Tuesday, which is lower than the national mortality rate of 1.79 per cent as of Sunday.

Addressing the media on Tuesday, Special Chief Secretary (Health) K S Jawahar Reddy said that the health department is focusing on hospitalising patients in serious conditions as early as possible. “Earlier, deaths were happening within 24 to 48 hours of patients being admitted to the hospital. At present, they (patients who are losing their lives) are being treated in the hospital for 4-5 days. We are trying to make sure there is at least 6-7 days’ time (for hospital treatment), If we still cannot save a patient, it must be a really bad case,” he said.

Krishna District Collector Md Imtiaz also said that the death audit carried out at the district level has shown that early referral of patients to the hospital is key to saving them. He also said that it was important for patients with serious symptoms to be hospitalised immediately, regardless of testing. 

Krishna district, which was among the three worst-affected districts in the state for the first few months since the pandemic hit the state, now has the lowest number of active cases in the state, at 2,240. While other districts like Kurnool and Guntur, which saw a high number of cases along with Krishna, have seen a high number of deaths (382 and 383, respectively, as of Tuesday), Krishna district has recorded 282 deaths in total. 

Anyone who is suffering from severe symptoms, like persistent fever for 3 to 4 days, difficulty in breathing, or if the oxygen levels fall below 94 percent, they must get admitted even without testing, Jawahar Reddy said. 

Sharing a comparison of the district-wise data over the past two fortnights (August 3-16, August 17-30), he said that while the first fortnight saw nearly 1.3 lakh cases, the second fortnight saw 1.38 lakh cases. There were 8,139 additional cases in the second fortnight, which is an increase in cases by 6.26 per cent he said. 

In terms of fatalities, the first fortnight saw 1,195 deaths, while the second half of the month registered 1,237 deaths, he said. 

More deaths are being reported from Nellore, Chittoor, and Prakasam districts lately, he said. 

Since the onset of the pandemic in the state in March, Krishna, Kurnool and Guntur districts saw the highest number of cases and deaths for a few days. After the lockdown restrictions were relaxed, East and West Godavari districts saw a huge spike in infections. 

Jawahar Reddy said that as per the health department officials’ understanding, the peak in infections has passed in Krishna, Kurnool and Guntur districts. He said that Srikakulam, Nellore, Chittoor and Prakasam districts are currently  going through their peak. 

At present, East Godavari continues to have the highest number of active cases (18,924), followed by Prakasam (10,732), Chittoor (9,090), Vizianagaram (7,990) and Guntur (7,561).