After twenty people who returned to India from the United Kingdom tested positive for the new UK coronavirus strain, the traces of new strain was found in two people in Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut and Gautam Buddh Nagar(Noida).
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Authorities have sent the samples of all those who they had contacted to the labs for testing.
Uttar Pradesh officials said that 2,500 samples have been sent to the labs of all those who had come in contact with those returning from the UK.
The UK government had informed a fortnight ago that the new strain was “70 per cent” more transferable and had originated from South Africa.
The new strain has been detected in several countries including in Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Japan, Australia, Sweden, France, Canada, Lebanon and Singapore.
Six people had tested positive for the new virus strain on Tuesday in India and were shifted to single room isolation at various health care facilities in the states.
“Comprehensive contact tracing has been initiated for co-travellers, family contacts and others. Genome sequencing on other specimens is going on,” the health ministry said.
“The situation is under careful watch and regular advice is being provided to the states for enhanced surveillance, containment, testing and dispatch of samples to INSACOG labs,” the ministry added.
According to India’s health ministry, 33,000 passengers have disembarked at various Indian airports from the UK between November 25 to December 23 midnight.
India on Wednesday extended the flight ban to the UK to January 7 after announcing initially that it would be in force till December 31. The UK is one of the 23 countries with whom India shares an “air bubble”.
