COVID-19 positivity rate in Andhra Pradesh less than national average: State govt

Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh) [Indai], August 8 (ANI): Both the COVID-19 positivity rate and the mortality rate in Andhra Pradesh have been lesser than the national average, the state government said on Friday.
During a review meeting on COVID-19, Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy said that about 85 to 90 per cent of the tests are being conducted in the containment areas. The call centers, 104 and 14410, should function effectively and the officials should monitor the helpline performance regularly.
In order to further reduce the mortality rate, the Chief Minister enquired about the steps being taken, to which the officials said that for people with severe respiratory problems five to 10 beds were available at the primary health centre (PHC) level adding that clinical protocol is being strictly followed. "Patients with fever and low oxygen levels are being immediately admitted to hospitals. If the problems aggravate, the patient is being shifted to COVID hospitals," the officials said.
While the national average of positivity is 8.87 per cent, the state average is 8.56 per cent, Karnataka at 9.88 per cent, Tamil Nadu at 9.26 per cent, Maharashtra at 19.36 and in Delhi, it is 12.75 per cent.
The national average mortality rate is 2.07 per cent while the state average is 0.89 per cent while Karnataka recorded 1.85 per cent and Maharashtra 3.52 per cent.
The state government is extensively carrying out the tests, more so, in containment clusters.
The tests per million were recorded at 43,059 in the districts of Srikakulam, Kurnool, Kadapa, Krishna, Nellore, West Godavari and Chittoor were more than the state average.
The chief minister also enquired about the food and hygiene in the 138 COVID care hospitals to which the officials said that the menu was being strictly followed thereby maintaining quality.
He also enquired about the functioning of telemedicine and asked the officials to call back the users to get the feedback and take corrective measures wherever there are complaints. Medicines should be available for emergency use.
The officials said as per the instructions of the Chief Minister help desks were started at 110 COVID hospitals and the Chief Minister said that feedback should be taken on the SOPs to be followed by COVID hospitals.
With 10,171 new corona cases and 89 deaths in the last 24 hours, the state reported 2,06,960 cases. Of these, 84,654 are active cases and 1,20,464 have recovered, according to the state COVID nodal officer. (ANI)