Vijayawada: For the fourth day in a row, Andhra Pradesh recorded more than 100 new cases of coronavirus infection on Tuesday. With the 115 new cases reported on Tuesday, the total has now reached 3,791.
With no death of Covid-19 patient reported, the death toll remains at 64.
The state has stepped up its testing rate to 7577 tests per million. It is concentrating its attention on people returning to the state from their places of work abroad or in other states of India.
On Tuesday, the 115 new cases had 33 returnees from other states among them. Cumulative positive cases of foreign returnees so far have been reported to be 112, with 111 of them being active. Similarly, cumulative positive cases reported from other states are 479, with 282 cases being active.
Guntur district reported 23 new coronavirus cases. Of them, 18 are from Kolli Sarada Market, three from Sanjeevaiah Nagar and one each from Tenali and Penumaka.
There were signs Tuesday that the virus is now reaching tribal areas in Visakhapatnam district. A 20-year-old tribal woman hailing from Bachuluru village at Y. Ramavaram mandal in East Godavari, jumped home quarantine and visited a weekly market at Sileru in the Visakhapatnam tribal Agency area along with three men, causing concern among all those who visited the market.
Sources said that the woman had been working in a shrimp processing unit in a village near Pamarru in Krishna district. She got stuck at her workplace due to the lockdown and returned home in East Godavari on May 26. Local health authorities kept her under home quarantine and sent her swab samples to a lab in Kakinada for Covid-19 test.
However, she left home on May 31 against medical advice and visited the weekly market at Sileru. She moved around in close proximity with other visitors in the market. After she returned home, health officials informed her that she has tested positive for coronavirus. She has been shifted to Covid-19 hospital at Kakinada for treatment. Officials are on the lookout for her contacts at the weekly market.
As news spread about the tribal woman visiting the weekly market at Sileru testing Covid-19 positve, tribals and traders of Sileru and Donkarayi became tense. They called for a meeting and resolved not to allow any outsiders into their villages. They would also not organize any meetings or outdoor games.
In another case, a 55-year-old man and his son tested positive for Covid-19 at Chintalaveedhi in Anakapalle. Sources said the two are wholesale dealers for air conditioners. Retailers from the four neighbouring districts visit their electronics shop for purchases. While the old man was suffering with severe fever for the last one week, his son also developed fever later. Local health authorities conducted Covid-19 test on all five members including the old man, his son, his wife, his daughter-in-law and on domestic help. The test result showed that both the old man and his son are Covid-19 positive.
Learning about it, all shops in Chintalaveedhi were shut. All the five have been admitted to a corporate hospital in Visakhapatnam. Their swabs have been collected and sent for coronavirus testing. Results are awaited.
In East Godavari district, 31 new coronavirus positive cases have been reported. Of them, 27 are from Konaseema region. All new cases from the region are those of guest workers who returned from Mumbai by Shramik special trains. With this, the number cases in the district have risen to 303.
