Four staff members of Andhra Pradesh Governor's office here on Sunday tested positive for COVID-19. A security officer and a staff nurse were among those found infected, Special Chief Secretary (Health) KS Jawahar Reddy told reporters.
They were shifted to a hospital for treatment. However, an official statement from the Governor's office is awaited.
Following this development, officials carried out disinfectant operations at Raj Bhavan, the official residence of the Governor. The municipal authorities deployed a drone to spray sodium hypochlorite in the premises.
With the latest developments, the Governor may also undergo a COVID-19 test soon.
Vijayawada is already a hotspot as it has reported more than 100 cases. The state reported 81 new cases on Sunday, taking the tally to 1097. The state has so far recorded 31 fatalities.
Krishna District Collector A Md Imtiaz and Vijayawada Police Commissioner Ch Dwaraka Tirumala Rao toured Krishna Lanka in the city, where 24 people tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday.
They appealed to people to strictly adhere to the lockdown norms and not to venture out of their homes to prevent further spread of the pandemic. Of the 177 COVID-19 cases registered in Krishna district, 150 were in Vijayawada city alone, they said.
Meanwhile, state Deputy Chief Minister (Health) AKK Srinivas visited Srikakulam on Sunday to take stock of the situation as three COVID-19 cases were suddenly reported in the district, which had reported no cases so far.
In a related development, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy spoke to Union Home Minister Amit Shah over the phone and explained the steps being taken by the state government to increase the number of tests.
"With 1,274 tests per million population, Andhra Pradesh is top in the country. We are also effectively implementing the lockdown," a CMO release quoted Jagan as telling Amit Shah.
So far 231 patients were discharged in the state.
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With IANS and PTI inputs