Covid-19 cases rise to 13 in AP as two more persons test

: The coronavirus contagion is slowly spreading in Andhra Pradesh with two more cases reported on Friday, taking the total to 13.

The two persons who tested positive on Friday were kin of coronavirus patients in Visakhapatnam and Guntur, the government said. The patients communicated the disease to their kin due to person-to-person contact.

The state government constituted a high-level task force with five ministers and 10 senior IAS officers to oversee coronavirus-related measures by coordinating with district-level teams.

The task force will obtain feedback from the districts and take necessary action needed to check the disease spread.

The latest bulletin of the Medical and Health Department said the 52-year old person, who returned to Guntur after attending a religious congregation in Nizamuddin Mosque in Delhi, communicated the coronavirus to his spouse. She got into contact with the person on March 19 and was kept in hospital isolation since March 23. Her blood examination report confirmed coronavirus on Friday.

A person who came in contact with his kin, a coronavirus afflicted patient in Visakhapatnam, also tested positive for the disease on Friday morning.

The person came in contact with the coronavirus patient on March 17 and developed symptoms. He was kept in isolation on March 21 and on Friday his blood sample tested positive for the virus.

Visakhapatnam now has four coronavirus cases, followed by three in Vijayawada. Guntur has two while Ongole, Nellore, Chittoor and Rajamahendravaram recorded one positive case each.

Meanwhile, health and police authorities are busy tracking the other persons who came in contact with the coronavirus patient in Guntur. The patient took part in a couple of prayer meetings upon his return from Nizamuddin Mosque in New Delhi.

Officials fear he might have communicated the disease to his contacts and accordingly started the tracking.

"We have identified about four persons who came in contact with the coronavirus patient and sending them for quarantine," health officials said.

The state Health Department said 29,262 persons returned to AP from various countries over the last few days. Of them, 29,136 were kept under home isolation and another 126 admitted to hospitals.