Amaravati, Apr 29 (IANS): For the first time in three days, Andhra Pradesh reported a slight decline in the number of COVID-19 cases detected in a single day. On Wednesday morning, the state nodal officer reported 72 new cases detected during the testing conducted in the 24 hours ending 10 a.m. With this the cumulative tally of coronavirus cases in the state has reached 1,332.

The highest number of cases were reported from Guntur district with 29 samples testing positive, while Krishna and Kurnool districts reported 13, and 11 cases respectively. Anantapur, Kadapa, and Prakasam districts reported four cases each while Chittor and West Godavari districts reported three and two cases respectively. One case each was reported from East Godavari, Srikakulam, and Visakhapatnam districts respectively.

Kurnool, with 343 cases, continues to remain the top hotspot in Andhra Pradesh, and Guntur follows with 283 cases. Krishna district figures in the third position with 236 cases. Vizianagaram district remains the only district in the state to remain untouched by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Incidentally, even as the number of cases dipped marginally, the past 24 hours also saw the highest number of 7,727 samples checked in this period. From Wednesday onwards, the state has increased the number of tests and is conducting upwards of 6,000 tests daily. The exception was Monday, when only 5,873 were conducted.

The state government has so far conducted 88,061 tests at the rate of 1,649 tests per million population. State government officials claim that compared to the national average of 3.84 per cent, positivity rate in Andhra Pradesh is 1.51 per cent.

Meanwhile, with no further deaths reported, the death toll in the state stands at 31.

With 287 persons cured and discharged from hospital, the effective tally of COVID-19 patients in Andhra Pradesh stands at 1,014.