IT Correspondent
Mumbai, Jan 5:
A total of 58 UK returnees have been found to be positive with the new U.K variant genome as per the samples tested in different laboratories across the country, even as authorities began contact tracing for co-travellers, family contacts and others to prevent transmission of virus.
A total of 58 samples tested include: 10 in the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru(Karnataka), 3 in the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology(CCMB), Hyderabad(Telangana), 25 in National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune(Maharashtra), 11 in Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB) New Delhi, 8 in National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), New Delhi and one in National Institute of Biomedical Genomics( NIBMG), Kolkata(West Bengal).
The positive samples are being tested at 10 INSACOG labs (NIBMG Kolkata, Institute of Life Science (ILS),Bhubaneswar,Odisha, NIV Pune, the National Centre for Cell ScienceNCCS Pune, the Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology(CCMB) Hyderabad, the Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD) Hyderabad, The Institute for Stem Cell Science and Regenerative Medicine (InSTEM) Bengaluru, NIMHANS Bengaluru, Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB) Delhi, NCDC Delhi) for genome sequencing.
All these persons have been kept in single room isolation in designated Health Care facilities by respective State Governments. Their close contacts have also been put under quarantine. Comprehensive contact tracing has been initiated for co-travellers, family contacts and others. Genome sequencing on other specimens is going on. The situation is under careful watch and regular advice is being provided to the States for enhanced surveillance, containment, testing & dispatch of samples to Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) laboratories, Union Health Ministry stated.
Those who tested positive for the mutated strain of SARS-CoV-2, on Monday included
8 from Maharashtra and 6 from Kerala.
Kerala
”Six people who recently returned from the UK have tested positive for the new strain. We have placed them under surveillance. Their samples have been sent to NIV, Pune, Kerala Health Minister K K Shailaja said on Monday.
Karnataka
Three more people who returned from the UK have tested positive for the mutant strain of coronavirus, taking the total of such cases to ten in Karnataka, state health minister Dr K Sudhakar said on Monday. He also said 75 people who returned from the UK were yet to be traced and the Home department and the city corporation authorities are trying to locate them.
“Thirty four UK returnees tested positive for Covid-19. Among them, the mutant coronavirus strain was detected in ten persons and all of them are recovering in government hospitals,” Sudhakar told reporters.
Maharashtra
Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope said on Monday, that among the patients, five are from Mumbai and one each from Pune, Thane and Mira Bhayander and the authorities are currently tracing contacts of the eight.
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray held a meeting to discuss the state’s preparation for vaccination rollout. He also sought to know from authorities the COVID-19 situation after cases of the new variant were found. In the meeting, the CM decided to request the Centre to quarantine passengers arriving from the UK at the international airports where they are landing.
The decision came after it was discovered that people returning from the UK are taking flights to airports outside of Maharashtra. “It has been brought to the notice of the government that due to strict quarantine rules for UK returnees in Maharashtra, people returning from the UK are taking flights to airports outside the state. Later they travel to Mumbai to avoid quarantine,” the chief minister’s office said.
