With the first batch of foreign returnees set to land in the state on Monday, the Andhra Pradesh government has made adequate arrangements for their arrival. Arrangements, including screening, medical and transport, have been made at the three airports in the state for returnees from the US, and other countries.
"Arrangements have been made at Visakhapatnam, Tirupati and Vijayawada airports for the returnees. All those expenses will be borne by the state," said an official.
On arrival, the returnees will be directly sent to dedicated quarantine centres in special vehicles, as per the order of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Reviewing the lockdown scenario on Sunday, Jagan asked officials to focus on the control measures to be taken at 11 check-posts along entry points to the state and develop a standard operational guidelines. State government officials said all those entering Andhra Pradesh, will be monitored and tracked through an app till they reach their destination.
Moreover, to track returnees' health condition, details will be shared with local health workers, and village volunteers. Also, all the returnees will undergo tests and be put under home isolation for the specified period. While several flight are expected to land in Andhra Pradesh, some flights carrying natives will also be landing in neighbouring states.
The first flight carrying people of Andhra Pradesh would land in Hyderabad from the United States of America (USA) on Monday. All those landing in Hyderabad would be brought to Vijayawada by buses and quarantined after preliminary screening at the airport, Principal Secretary (Transport) M T Krishna Babu said.
According to Krishna Babu, reception teams from Andhra Pradesh would be positioned in airports at Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai where the state's citizens would arrive from various foreign countries.
A proper medical check-up will be conducted on these people and if someone is found with symptoms of coronavirus, they will be moved to the nearest COVID-19 care centre. Others will be brought to the state by buses, he said.
The state government was providing two options - free or paid quarantine - depending on the passengers choice.
"If the returnees opt for paid quarantine, we have categorised three facilities by tying up with various hotels. There will be luxury, medium and budget categories with prices starting from Rs 1,500," the Principal Secretary said.
On inter-state transfers, he said 11 trains have been arranged so far and 11,860 migrant workers have been sent back to their respective states.
"Rajasthan and West Bengal governments have not yet given permission to send the migrant workers back to those states. As such we could not run the special Sharmik trains," he said. Jharkhand was permitting only one train per week and the second train would leave on May 12, he added.
The state government is footing the complete expenditure of the migrant workers upto the last mile and also providing Rs 500 to each person for out-of-pocket expenses, Krishna Babu added.
From other states, 12,273 people had returned. "We are giving top priority to migrant workers in distress, pilgrims, tourists and students in groups stuck in other states. Another 30,000 people were still stuck in other states waiting to return," the Principal Secretary said.
With IANS and PTI inputs
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