13 test +ve for UK strain, tally now 71

THE GOVERNMENT HAS ASKED STATES TO FAST-TRACK CONTACT TRACING OF THESE POSITIVE CASES AND TEST THE SYMPTOMATIC CONTACTS

NEW DELHI: With 13 more people testing positive for the new UK variant of Sars-cov-2, the virus that causes Coronavirus disease (Covid-19), the total number of UK returnees having tested positive for the mutant virus in the country has reached 71, the Centre has announced.

The results are based on the genome sequencing of positive samples released by the Indian Sars-cov-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) labs that the Centre has specifically created for the purpose of monitoring any kind of mutations in the virus. “As of now, there have been 71 positive cases detected of the new UK variant from different designated labs across the country,” said Dr Renu Swarup, secretary, department of biotechnology, in the media briefing on Tuesday. The government has asked states to fast-track contact tracing of these positive cases, and isolate and test the symptomatic contacts so as to curb the spread of infection that is known to be at least 70% more infectious than the original virus.

The samples have so far been sequenced in six of the 10 designated labs across the country.

From November 25 to December 23, 2020, midnight, about 33,000 passengers disembarked at various Indian airports from UK. All these passengers are being tracked and subjected by states to RT-PCR tests to detect Covid-19. 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 , according to the ministry of health. “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,” said the health ministry in a statement.