Covid grips South India; AP, TN report 7000 plus new cases on single day

After having had its run in Maharashtra and Delhi, Covid-19 has gripped south India with Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu recording over 7000 new cases in the past 24 hours ending Saturday – the biggest spike on a single day so far.

Andhra Pradesh added 7,813 fresh cases in a day, taking the overall tally to 88,671 Saturday. Another 52 Covid patients succumbed while 3,208 were discharged from hospitals in the last 24 hours, the latest bulletin said. While East Godavari continued the alarming trend by registering 1,324 fresh cases in the last 24 hours, its neighbour West Godavari reported 1,012 cases.

The official Covid figure for a single day in Tamil Nadu was just shy of 7000 mark and stood at 6,989.

The State also crossed the 2-lakh mark of Covid cases. Eighty-nine have died and 7,758 have recovered in the last 24 hours. The total cases in the state is now 2,06,737.

According to official data, 20 died in Chennai in the last 24 hours and 1,329 have tested positive. The recovery rate in Tamil Nadu is 73 per cent and mortality rate is 1.64 per cent.

The Covid positive cases reported in the last 24 hours from the districts are: Thiruvallur (385), Coimbatore (270), Ranipet (244), Madurai (301), Chengalpattu (449), Virudhunagar (376), Kancheepuram (442), Vellore (212) and Tuticorin (317).

The state health department is opening hundreds of fever clinics in districts for early detection and intervention, which has brought down Chennai’s daily tally by 50 per cent.

Tamil Nadu has the highest number of coronavirus cases in India after Maharashtra. Delhi has the third-biggest cases.

Cases continued to rise sharply in Telangana too, with 1,640 new cases and eight deaths being reported, taking the tally of positive cases in the state to 52,466 and deaths to 455.

In Telangana, a top health official has hinted at community transmission. “The next four to five weeks are going to be very crucial and people must exercise utmost care and not neglect symptoms,” Dr G Srinivasa Rao, Telangana’s Director of Public Health, said. Telangana Health Minister Etala Rajender, however, has denied it.

Tamil Nadu’s neighbour, Karnataka, is not far behind. It became the first state to record over 50k active Covid-19 cases with the total yet to touch 1 lakh. It is also the third state in the country — after Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu — to log more than 50,000 active Covid cases.

Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu reached the 50K active cases stage after their total crossed the 1-lakh mark.

Meanwhile, Karnataka continued to record 5000 plus Covid cases for the third day with 5072 testing positive Saturday, taking the total number of active cases to 55,338 and overall total crossing the 90K mark.

The state reported 72 Covid-related deaths, taking the total to 1796. Bengaluru’s Covid graph continues to rise with 2036 people testing positive on Saturday, taking the total to 43,503. The day also saw 29 patients losing their lives, taking the total to 862.

Despite 10 ministers and 30 IAS and IPS officers, besides the CM, directly managing the Covid crisis in Bengaluru, the number of cases seem to be spinning out of control.

Like in AP, TN and Karnataka, Kerala too reported the highest number of Covid-19 cases on a single day with 1103 people testing positive Saturday, 838 of them being through contacts. The source of contact of 72 patients is not known and this has become a worry for the health authorities.

However, the good news is that 1049 patients recovered from the infection on the same day.

The state also reported five deaths, taking the total to 59.

A marriage reception held on July 17 in Chengalam in Kasaragod district has become a cluster with 43 testing positive, including the bride and the groom. The reception violated the Covid rules as over 75 people attended the lavish reception. Those who attended the reception are being tested while the police registered a case against the hosts.

Thiruvananthapuram continued to report a high number of cases with 240 people testing positive Saturday, followed by Kozhikode (110), Kasaragod (105 and Alappuzha (102).

Ernakulam district reported 79 cases and an old age home has become a cluster with 49 testing positive today. The virus is now spreading from Aluva to nearby panchayats, sources said.

A decision on lockdown will be taken on Monday. Sources indicated that there may not be a total lockdown, but hotspots and cluster areas may be shut down.