Amaravati, Apr 22 (IANS): The COVID-19 tally in Andhra Pradesh climbed to 813 on Wednesday morning. The state nodal officer reported that 56 new cases were detected in the 24 hours ending 10 a.m. Wednesday. Continuing the trend witnessed over the past few weeks, Kurnool and Guntur districts, with 19 cases each, reported the highest number of coronavirus cases in the state.

Apart from the two districts, Kadapa, Prakasam and Nellore districts reported five, four and three new cases respectively.

Meanwhile, with two more persons succumbing to the pandemic, the death toll due to COVID-19 climbed to 24 in the state. With 120 persons discharged from hospital, the effective number of COVID-19 cases in the state stands at 613.

With the latest updates, Kurnool district has once again taken the lead over Guntur district, in terms of cumulative numbers of cases. While Kurnool's tally is 203, Guntur has reported a total of 177 cases till now. The Krishna and Nellore districts have reported 86 and 67 cases respectively.

With no sign of the numbers abating, the state government has intensified its efforts to contain the spread of the pandemic in the state. Apart from ordering 16 crore face masks for distribution among the state's 5.3 crore residents, the state government has begun to focus upon testing in the afflicted clusters.