AP reports 425 fresh COVID-19 cases, tally rises to 7,496

Amaravati, Jun 18 () The COVID-19 surge continued unabated in Andhra Pradesh with a record single day high of 425 new cases being added, taking the overall tally to 7,496 on Thursday.

The coronavirus toll also continued its upward trend as two more patients died in Krishna district, making it a total of 92 so far in the state, according to the latest bulletin. In the last 24 hours ended at 10 AM, as many as 131 coronavirus patients were discharged from hospitals in the state, the bulletin added. When asked about the surge, a senior health official said the pandemic was probably peaking in the state. "Yes, we are peaking. Handling the new case load is crucial for us now," he added. The coronavirus-infected patient recovery rate that has been constantly falling over the last few days, dipped further to 50.32 per cent while positivity rate inched up to 1.22 per cent.

With 13,923 tests in the last 24 hours, the cumulative number crossed the six lakh mark to 6,12,397 as the state government said it set a new record of 11,468 tests per million population, the highest among states in the country. Tamil Nadu is next with 10,048 tests per million. The 7,496 fresh cases included 1,353 from other states and 289 foreign returnees. The state now has a gross number of 3,632 active cases while the number of those discharged was 3,772. DBV SS VS VS