VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh has recorded its first death due to COVID-19, according to a bulletin released by the State government on Friday.

Though the victim, a 55-year-old man from Vijayawada whose son returned from the Tablighi Jamaat meet in Delhi, died on March 30, the government confirmed it as a death due to the pandemic only four days later as he died immediately after his samples were taken for testing.

State nodal officer for COVID-19 containment Dr Srikanth Arja said the victim went to the Government General Hospital in Vijayawada around 11.30 am on March 30.

His samples were collected, and he died by 12.30 pm.

“His son returned from New Delhi on March 17, and hence, his samples too were taken on March 30. They returned positive a day later. Since the father, who may have contracted the virus from his son, had other comorbities such as hypertension, diabetes and cardiac issues, it took time to ascertain the cause of death,” Dr Arja said. Incidentally, the wife of the victim died the previous day — March 29. She was not tested for COVID-19.

While the bulletin did not reveal details, such as the woman’s death or the travel history of her son, it mentioned that he flew back from New Delhi to Vijayawada. “Details of the flight in which the son travelled were notified to the Centre. All care has been taken as per protocols in place,”  it said.
Sources said that though the son returned from Tablighi Jamaat on March 17, neither he nor his family was under the district administration’s radar until they themselves went to the hospital. The police reportedly advised the family to get tested after the death of another man in the city who returned from Delhi but had not gotten tested. Meanwhile, the number of coronavirus cases in the state shot up to 164. Between 10 pm Thursday and 10.30 pm Friday, 15 new positive cases were confirmed by the government.