Jubilee Post News & Views
- Total 38 people in India test positive
- UP count is now 5
Special Desk
A total of 38 people have tested positive for the new United Kingdom variant of SARS-CoV-2 in India, of which 5 are from Meerut district in Uttar Pradesh.
The Union health ministry has informed that 29 cases were reported till January 1. All these people tested with new strain have been kept in single room isolation in designated healthcare facilities by respective state governments and their close contacts have also been put under quarantine, the ministry said.
Of the 38, the mutated UK strain was detected in eight samples at National Centre for Disease Control, New Delhi, 11 in the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, Delhi, one in the National Institute of Biomedical Genomics, Kalyani (near Kolkata), five in the National Institute of Virology in Pune, three in Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology in Hyderabad and 10 were sequenced at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences Hospital, Bengaluru.
The NCBS, InSTEM in Bengaluru, CDFD in Hyderabad, ILS in Bhubaneswar and NCCS in Pune have so far found no UK mutant virus, the ministry said. “A total of 38 samples have been found to be positive with the new UK variant genome,” the ministry said.
Also Read : CMO died during treatment for covid
Also Read : IFFI’s 51st edition in Goa
“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 stated.
Large number of travellers from abroad were tested via RT PCR for covid inclusing over 2500 in Uttar Pradesh. If positive the genome sequencing is being done to find out the strain.
The presence of the new UK variant has already been reported by Denmark, Netherlands, Australia, Italy, Sweden, France, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Canada, Japan, Lebanon and Singapore. India took cognizance of the reports of virus reported from the UK and put in place a proactive and preventive strategy to detect and contain the mutant variant.
