Six UK returnees test positive for new variant of COVID-19 in India

The new variant of COVID-19 has officially entered India, as six UK returnees tested positive for the mutated coronavirus genome variant. The Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan confirmed that the samples of six UK returnees have been tested and were found positive for the mutated UK coronavirus strain. 

Three samples were tested at NIMHANS, Bengaluru, two in Hyderabad's Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology and one in Pune's National Institute of Virology.

All the six returnees have been kept in isolation in single rooms in the designated Health Care facilities by respective State Governments. Their close contacts have also been placed under quarantine. 

Comprehensive Contact Tracing initiated

After these UK travelers tested positive, the respective authorities initiated comprehensive contact tracing for co-travelers, family contacts and others. The genome sequencing on other specimens is going on currently, as per the Union Health Ministry. 

The health ministry is carefully monitoring the situation and regular advice is being given to the states for enhanced surveillance, testing, containment and dispatch of samples to INSACOG labs.

Key Highlights 

•The Union Health Ministry had put in place a pro-active and preventive strategy to detect and contain the mutant variant as soon as reports of the mutant variant of SARS- CoV-2 virus came from the United Kingdom. 

•The strategy included the temporary suspension of all flights coming from the United Kingdom with effect from midnight on December 23rd till December 31, 2020. 

•The government also mandated testing of all UK returnees through RT-PCR test. The samples of all those who tested positive for COVID-19 were sent for genome sequencing.

•The National Task Force had also met on December 26, 2020 to examine the issue and threat at length and concluded that there is no need to change the existing National Treatment Protocol or existing Testing Protocols in view of the mutant variant.

•The task force just recommended enhanced genomic surveillance in addition to the existing surveillance strategy. 

National Task Force examined the issue at length

🔸Existing treatment & testing protocols along with genomic surveillance found effective
🔹33,000 passengers from UK are being traced & tested
🔸6 found positive with new UK variant genome
🔹Comprehensive contact tracing initiated pic.twitter.com/PO9JyXzjBF

— Dr Harsh Vardhan (@drharshvardhan) December 29, 2020

•The new UK variant of coronavirus has already been reported in countries including Italy, Australia, Canada, France, Spain, Germany, Japan, Switzerland, Denmark, Netherlands, Sweden, Singapore and Lebanon.

Background

As per the Union Health Ministry, about 33,000 passengers disembarked at various Indian airports from the UK between November 25 and December 23. All these passengers are being tracked and subjected to RT-PCR tests by States and Union Territories.

So far, 114 have been found positive for COVID-19 and their samples were sent to 10 INSACOG labs for genome sequencing to find out whether they have been infected with the new UK variant of the virus.