Amaravathi, The COVID-19 tally in Andhra Pradesh has reached 226, by 9 a.m. on Sunday. In all, 34 samples tested positive in the 12 hours between 9 p.m. on Friday and 9 a.m. on Saturday.

State nodal officer Dr Srikanth Arja said that the maximum number of positive cases was 23 from Kurnool, followed by Chittooru with 7 positive cases. Two results each from Ongole and Nellore also came positive during the night.

Currently, the maximum number of positive cases in the state are from Nellore district where 34 samples have tested COVID-19 positive. Krishna district has 28 cases, followed by Kadapa and Prakasam districts with 23 cases each.

Chittooru has 17 cases while Visakhapatnama and West Godavari have reported 15 cases each so far. East Godavari has 11 cases and Ananthapur district has 3 positive cases. Vijayanagaram and Srikakulam are the only districts to not have reported any COVID-19 cases.

The state saw a spurt in COVID-19 cases after March 20, when a large numbers of people who had attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation at Delhi, between March 15-17, began returning to their homes. A number of foreign delegates at the congregation had transmitted coronavirus to the participants, reulting in the spike in cases in Andhra Pradesh.

On Saturday, Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy had appealed to the people to refrain from blaming any particular community for the spread of COVID-19 in the state. He also urged people of the state to switch off lights in their homes and light up candles, earthen lamps or cell phone flashlights for 9 minutes at 9 p.m. on Sunday, in solidarity with the Prime Minister's call.

Meanwhile, tests of samples taken from the Delhi-returnees is continuing and the results will be released as they are obtained by the authorities.