AP approaches Covid-19 peak, 60% beds still vacant

VISAKHAPATNAM: Andhra Pradesh seems to heading towards a peak in Covid-19 cases , if the unprecedented surge in numbers over the last one month is anything to go by.

The state’s disease positivity rate, which explains disease prevalence at a particular point in time, stands at 9.16% as of Saturday, slightly above the national average of 8.92%.

The district of East Godavari has the highest number of cases among all districts in the country. The case doubling time, that is the amount of time taken for cases to double in a particular area, stands at 9 days.

In terms of Covid-19 caseload , the state breached the one lakh-mark on July 27, after nearly 135 days since the first case was reported on March 12. But it took the state only 11 days to add the next one lakh cases. AP touched the two lakh milestone on August 7 and is currently reporting around 10,000 cases a day.

By the end of May, Andhra Pradesh’s case positivity rate was limited to near 1%. It increased to 2.16% in June. Subsequently, the positivity rate took an alarming rise to 12.33%. Positivity rate continued to climb even in August and currently stands at 16%, while the overall positivity rate is at 9.16% .

The impending peak is being projected from the growing prevalence of the disease. Andhra Pradesh was 10th in terms of caseload when it crossed the 10,000 cases mark on June 25. The state was at the fourth spot when it crossed the 1lakh-mark on June 27. Now, AP is among the top three states in terms of caseload.

Dr KS Jawahar Reddy, special chief secretary of the medical and health department said that some districts have entered the peak curve while some others are about to.

“Districts like East Godavari, West Godavari, Kurnool, Anantapur and Guntur are reporting the maximum number of cases. It is nearly five months into the pandemic. The state reaching its peak will be a natural consequence,” Jawahar Reddy added. Andhra Pradesh is currently testing around 60,000 to 70,000 samples a day, maintaining its top position in the country in terms of testing.