Vizag reports 985 new coronavirus cases, district tally exceeds 28,000 

Vizag reported 985 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, resulting in the district tally inching closer to the 28,000-mark. According to the report released by Visakhapatnam COVID-19 Special Officer, Dr PV Sudhakar, 5135 patients are receiving treatment and 23,156 individuals have been discharged so far.

Despite the coronavirus tally of Vizag mounting to 28,487, the recovery rate of the district was noted as 81.28%. The report further stated that six more individuals succumbed to COVID-19 in a span of 24 hours, taking the death toll of the district to 196. As on 20 August, Visakhapatnam has 149 very active clusters, 74 active clusters, 513 dormant clusters, and 171 denotified clusters.

In order to boost the healthcare facilities in Vizag, the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC

) is planning to set up 40 new Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) under the corporation limits. With the arrival of monsoons, the authorities are taking measures to contain the spread of seasonal diseases like malaria and dengue in the city. Ward-level special officers have been directed to visit residents of their wards, along with malaria staff, to educate them on how seasonal diseases spread as a result of water stagnation. Furthermore, Malaria inspectors have been carrying out fogging and pesticide spraying activities in the gutters across the city every morning.

On the national front, India registered 28,41,400 confirmed COVID-19 cases as on Thursday. On Thursday morning, Maharashtra with 6,28,642 cases accounted for the major chunk of the cases in the country. Tamil Nadu with 3,55,449, Andhra Pradesh with 3,16,003, and Karnataka with 2,49,590 followed suit. While there are 6,89,088 active cases, the recovered cases reached 20,97,766. The death toll of India increased to 54,017.