Vijayawada saw a huge spike in COVID-19 cases, with 52 new cases coming to light on Sunday morning. Andhra Pradesh recorded 81 new cases, of which all 52 cases from Krishna district were from Vijayawada limits. Krishna Lanka area saw 24 new cases, while 18 new cases were found in Karmika Nagar, 4 cases in Khuddus Nagar, 4 cases in Gymkhana grounds area and 2 cases in Gudavalli.
Krishna District Collector Md Imtiaz, and Vijayawada Commissioner of Police Ch Dwaraka Tirumala Rao, visited Krishnalanka area on Sunday to appeal to people to take precautions.
“The number of cases in Vijayawada are increasing drastically. We are taking various measures from our side, but people are not being careful. They are mingling with their neighbours and being irresponsible,” Md Imtiaz said.
He said that as of now, it looked like just 2 people had ended up infecting nearly 20 people each. Earlier on Saturday, the Collector had said that two truck drivers from Krishna Lanka and Karmikas Nagar areas had ended up spreading the infection to several people, as they had taken part in social gatherings in their neighbourhoods.
Commissioner of Police Dwaraka Tirumala Rao said that while on one hand many frontline workers were contracting COVID-19, several contacts of a foreign returnee and a lorry driver have also tested positive.
“Criminal cases have been filed against them for their irresponsible behaviour, and necessary action will be taken,” he said, adding that there will be increased surveillance on people’s movements through CCTV cameras and drone cameras.
There has been no let up in the incidence of coronavirus cases in Andhra Pradesh which had crossed the 1,000-mark on Saturday. The state tally climbed to 1,097 on Sunday morning, as 81 new cases were reported in the 24-hours ending at 10 am.
As per the media bulletin, the majority of cases were reported from Krishna district where 52 cases were detected. This is the second time in as many days that the numbers from Krishna district have been so high. Previously, the highest incidence of coronavirus cases were reported from Kurnool and Guntur districts.
The state government has been aggressively conducting testing in the red zones, of which Krishna district is one. Red zones have been designated in Guntur, Kurnool, and Nellore as well.
With no deaths reported in the past 24 hours, the death toll in the state remained 31. So far, 231 persons have recovered and been discharged from hospital, taking the number of active cases in the state to 835.
(With IANS inputs)