Two COVID-19 Deaths in Andhra Pradesh: Officials Say Sporadic Cases Expected, No Cause for Alarm
Two persons who tested positive for COVID-19 have died in Andhra Pradesh within a span of ten days, prompting health officials to reassure the public that sporadic infections are expected and there is no need for alarm.
The first death occurred on June 28 in Rajampeta, Annamayya district. The 52-year-old patient, who was diabetic and hypertensive, had been admitted to Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore, with a lung infection and bilateral kidney disease. He died at the hospital.
The second death was reported on July 7 in Kadapa. The 43-year-old patient was admitted to Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), Kadapa, with bilateral pneumonia, fever and breathlessness. After five days of treatment with no improvement, doctors tested him for COVID-19 as per Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) protocol. He died the same day.
Both patients had no recent travel history except visits to nearby villages.
Following the deaths, the State Health Department constituted a Rapid Response Team and set up a COVID-19 control room. District administrations traced 28 contacts of the Kadapa patient and tested them. In both districts combined, eight contacts tested positive, all asymptomatic and stable, currently under home isolation.
Health officials have instructed superintendents of all Government General Hospitals to earmark 10-bed isolation wards and keep RT-PCR test kits, Remdesivir, personal protective equipment (PPE) and N95 masks ready as a precautionary measure.
Kadapa District Medical and Health Officer Ravi Babu said residents in the locality where the case was reported have been advised to wear masks and follow hand hygiene.
A senior Health Department official explained, “We had understood during the pandemic itself that the virus is here to stay and that sporadic cases would continue to occur. These two infections came to light only because the patients’ conditions deteriorated and they died. Otherwise, we may not have detected them.”
The official reiterated that there is no need for panic. Wearing masks remains a personal choice, and no travel restrictions have been imposed.
The Health Department is awaiting genome sequencing reports to identify the variant involved in the two cases.
