With no signs of relief from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the number of cases in Andhra Pradesh on Monday crossed the 1-lakh mark. The state which is reeling under the Covid-19 situation witnessed 6,051 new positive cases and 49 deaths in the last 24 hours. Situation has become worse in the East Godavari area which has become a Covid hotspot with 1,210 cases. Now, Andhra ranks fourth in the entire country in numbers of coronavirus cases with 1,02,349 patients. In the last three weeks, Andhra Pradesh has emerged as one of the biggest Covid hotspots in the country. The state is just behind Delhi, Tamil Nadu and Delhi in number of cases at a time when the National Capital has seen a sharp decline in number of cases due to its preventive measures. It looks like Andhra will overtake Delhi in a week. However, despite steep rise in cases, the officials are still in the state of denial and said that the numbers increased due to increased testing. On 20 July, the cases reached the 50,000 mark and within 8 days, the cases have doubled. Hitting out at the state government for its poor response against coronavirus, former Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party chief N. Chandrababu Naidu said that a health disaster was awaiting in the state. “It is a time to wage war against the Covid-19 but Jagan’s government is busy in targeting the leaders of the opposition parties. Due to that, it cannot focus on Covid-19 and people are dying on the roads due to lack of oxygen. Many doctors and medical staff are protesting in quarantine centres and hospitals for PPE kits but the government is fast asleep”, he tweeted.
While pointing out at the worrisome state of affairs in Andhra, Naidu said, “Even before the incident where patients were being herded into an ambulance in Kurnool district could be forgotten, Covid 19 patients were seen getting packed into an RTC bus in Vizag. How can a government be so negligent about people’s health? A health disaster awaits in Andhra Pradesh.”