Amaravati: Registering the highest per day spike so far, as many as 75 new coronavirus cases were added in Andhra Pradesh, taking the total past the 700 mark to 722 on Monday.
With three deaths reported, the toll mounted to 20.
Also, 27 patients got cured and discharged from hospitals, increasing their number to 92, according to the latest Covid-19 bulletin.
A woman sub-inspector of police and seven other frontline government staff of different departments contracted the virus in temple town Srikalahasthi of Chittoor district, official sources said.
Health Department authorities confirmed that community transmission of the virus has set in as over 40 such cases were detected in different districts so far.
In Anantapuramu district, an assistant sub-inspector of police succumbed to coronavirus.
Chittoor district witnessed a sudden spurt in COVID-19 cases, registering 25 in a single day and taking the total to 53.
The Srikalahasthi cases only sent the entire district administration into a tizzy as it turned out to be a case of “one source infecting many people”.
Guntur district, a major hotspot, added 20 new cases to its list to touch 149 overall.
Kurnool district continued to be the hotbed in the state, topping with 174 cases.
Apart from 16 new cases in the last 24 hours ending 9 am, one more death was reported from the district, taking the count to five.
Krishna district too recorded one more death and now tops the state in toll, with a total of six.
The COVID-19 bulletin said 3,775 samples were tested in the last 24 hours of which 75 turned positive and the remaining negative.
The cumulative number of tests in the state crossed 30,733 till date, of which 30,011 were negative, according to the COVID-19 dashboard.