Amaravati, Apr 9 (IANS): Four healthcare personnel in Andhra Pradesh's Anantapur district on Wednesday tested positive for COVID-19.

All the four employees, two of them said to be doctors, had treated a 68-year-old patient, who died of COVID-19 at Government General Hospital in Anantapur town on March 26.

As many as 29 healthcare staff of the hospital who had attended on the patient were quarantined.

Anantapur district medical and health officer (DMHO) Anil Kumar confirmed that four of them tested positive. He said they might have been infected because of some lapses in taking care while treating the patient.

Anantapur district on Wednesday registered seven new cases, including the four medical personnel.

In all, the state reported 19 new cases, taking the state's tally to 348. Three of the patients were discharged on Wednesday. With this the number of patients recovered and discharged reached nine.

Meanwhile, the state government took control of 58 private hospitals in different districts as a part of the preparation for the coming weeks. Officials said about 19,500 beds have been readied.

The health department declared 146 red zones considering the number of cases reported from respective areas.