A British traveller, who was stuck in Tirupati due to the lockdown after offering worship at the Sri Venkateswara temple in Tirumala, was sent back to Hyderabad by road to catch a flight to Ahmedabad and from there to London.
Speaking to PTI, a government official in Andhra Pradesh said on Friday that 56-year-old Culley Clive Bryant had arrived in the temple city and visited the hill shrine at Tirumala on March 21 and was stranded after the COVID-19 lockdown.
He was shifted to a quarantine facility in Tiruchanur and his samples were taken, following which he tested negative for the coronavirus.
During his stay in the quarantine facility, Bryant contacted the British embassy in the country and got all necessary documents, including departure tickets to London from Ahmedabad, through mail, the official said.
He had arrived in India on October 29 last year from Heathrow, London.
After a thorough verification of papers shown by the British national, the convinced officials in Tirupati arranged a hired vehicle in which he left for Hyderabad on Thursday evening to catch a flight on Friday to Ahmedabad to fly back to London, the official added.
As he completed his mandatory quarantine period and was leaving, he left the centre amid cheers after thanking all those who took care of him and ensured he was provided with meals during his stay.
"The bedrooms are large, clean and well ventilated...Excellent breakfast, lunch and dinner are provided to each room by the friendly staff along with tea, snacks and drinking water. Doctor checks on each resident each day and are on duty. An on-site counsellor is available to help with any worries of fear," he wrote in a thank-you note.
UK Citizen Mr Clive Bryant was in #Quarantine till today in Tirupati. He shares his experience of the quarantine center and thanks the medical staff for their exceptional care
— ArogyaAndhra (@ArogyaAndhra) April 16, 2020
Video: https://t.co/gdZddYYx9R#APFightsCorona pic.twitter.com/gB1Op4TQwP
As of Wednesday evening, Andhra Pradesh has reported 534 cases, of which 500 are active. While 20 people have been discharged, 14 people have died. The state said that it has tested 20,235 samples so far.
Guntur district has reported the most number of cases at 122, followed by Kurnool (113), Nellore (58), Krishna (48), Prakasam (42), Kadapa (36), West Godavari (34), Chittoor (23), Anantapur (21) Visakhapatnam (20) and East Godavari at 17. The northern most districts of Srikakulam and Vizianagaram have not reported a single case of COVID-19 so far.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Special Chief Secretary (Health) Jawahar Reddy said that the state is equipped with 1,35,000 Personnel Protection Equipment (PPE) kits, 1,16,000 N-95 masks, and around 1500 to 2,000 ventilators and there is no need to worry.
"Andhra Pradesh is in top five amongst the other states in the country in testing for COVID-19. Community surveillance and cluster containment are the two major strategies being followed by the state government. With efforts put in by the medical, paramedical, and emergency staff, the government is doing its best in these tough times," he said.
So far, 154 cluster containments are in place and with more cases reported on Thursday night, the cluster count would increase on Friday after analysis, the senior official said.