With 46 new COVID-19 cases in single day, Vizag surpasses 500 mark

Vizag COVID-19 tally hit 500-mark on Tuesday evening, as 46 new cases were reported in the past 24 hours. With these latest cases, the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Vizag has gone up to 530. According to the report received on 23 June 2020, 303 cases have been marked active while 223 individuals were discharged after testing negative for the virus. Today one more death has been reported in the district, taking the death toll to 4.

As per the COVID-19 report, Kailash Nagar, Ramachandra Nagar, Bheem Nagar, Kolluru Mansion, Prasanthi Nagar, Chelopalem, Chaitanya Nagar, MB Patnam, G K Veedhi Police Quarters have been demarcated as the new containment clusters due to increase in cases in Vizag district. Adding up these to the already existing list, the number of very active containment clusters has risen to 40. While 42 clusters fall under the active category, 27 are being considered as dormant. As on Tuesday evening, 26 clusters in the district have been denotified after not reporting a new COVID-19 case for the past 28 days. Until Tuesday evening, about 64,346, samples were tested for COVID-19 across Visakhapatnam. While 62,983 samples have turned negative, test results of 835 more samples are currently awaited.

With the surge in the coronavirus cases in the district, the authorities are demarcating the areas around the residences of the patients and implementing strict containment measures. In this regard, Asha Workers, Ward Volunteers, zonal commissioners, and all concerned personnel have been holding door-to-door surveys in every house in the containment clusters. Apart from conducting these surveys, the volunteers have also been instructed to mandatorily test elderly citizens above 60 years of age, and those with co-morbidities. The Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) is organising regular sanitation and disinfection drives to contain the spread of the virus.

Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh reported 407 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, as on Tuesday morning. While 7,858 cases were reported in the state, 1,624 people who returned from other states and 352 foreign returnees also tested positive for the virus, taking the state tally to 9,834. In wake of the surge in the coronavirus cases across the state, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has directed officials to test every household for COVID-19 withing 90 days. Speaking at a COVID-19 review meeting on Monday, the Chief Minister said that comprehensive tests and screenings should be held across the state using well-equipped 104 ambulances.