82 fresh COVID-19 cases reported in Andhra Pradesh, tally touches 1,259

The rapid spread of coronavirus in Andhra Pradesh continued as 82 fresh cases were reported in the last 24 hours, taking the aggregate to 1,259 on Tuesday.

For the fourth consecutive day, no COVID-19-related deaths were reported in the state as the toll remained at 31, a government bulletin said.

The total number of patients cured and discharged from hospitals increased to 258 as 23 were sent home in the last 24 hours ending 9 am on Tuesday. Kurnool, the worst-affected district in AP recorded 40 fresh cases, taking the overall count to 332.

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Guntur and Krishna- the second and third in the order registered 17 and 13 new cases to aggregate 254 and 223 respectively. In Kurnool, 12 coronavirus patients were discharged and 10 in Guntur on Tuesday, the bulletin said.

The state now has 970 active COVID-19 cases. The bulletin said 5,783 samples were tested in the last 24 hours, taking the aggregate so far to 80,334. Of the total, 79,075 turned negative in the tests. With over 1,400 tests per million population, the state government claimed that it has topped the country in conducting the COVID-19 screening.

The Health department officials attribute the spurt in number of cases to the increased testing.