Amaravati: The surging fears and stigma over the novel Coronavirus infection forced a woman in Andhra Pradesh refused the entry of her husband in the house, till he underwent the COVID-19 test. The incident took place in Venkatagiri in Nellore district when the man stuck in Nellore town due to the lockdown, finally returned to his home town, earlier this week.

The man has been working at a gold shop in Nellore, was stranded there since the lockdown was enforced last month. He finally managed to reach Venkatagiri on Wednesday. However, his wife asked him to first undergo screening for the Coronavirus before entering the house.

The woman said this was necessary for the safety of the children and the community. She also recommended that he stay in a local Anganwadi center and requested volunteers to ensure that he was tested.

The health personnel later took the man to Nellore, where his samples were collected. Although the test result was negative which was much to the relief of the man and his family. On defending herself the woman said, "I would not have risked the lives of children and those living in the neighborhood. That is why I insisted that he enter the house after undergoing the test."

In a similar incident early this week, a village sarpanch in Telangana did not allow her mother to return home from another village due to strict enforcement of lockdown after a man tested positive.

The state reported 38 new cases in a span of 24 hours, according to a medical bulletin issued on Friday morning, taking the total tally in Andhra Pradesh up to 572. With 14 dead and 35 discharged, the state has 523 active cases.

While Nellore district reported six cases in the 24-hour period, Kurnool reported 13. Both Anantapur and Chittoor districts reported five cases each, followed by Guntur and Krishna at four each and Kadapa at one.

With the latest figures, the districts of Guntur and Kurnool are the worst affected with 126 cases each, followed by Nellore (64), Krishna (52) and Prakasam (42).