Amid fears of the new variant of the coronavirus emerging from the United Kingdom, the Union Health ministry on Tuesday, 29 December, announced that all international passengers who entered the country between 9 December to 22 December and tested positive for COVID-19 will be subject to genome sequencing, ANI reported.
The passengers arriving from the UK in all flights that took off or which reached India before 22 December at 11:59 PM will also undergo mandatory RT-PCR test upon arrival at their respective airports.
Dr VK Paul, a member of Niti Aayog said, in a statement to ANI, “The major population is still susceptible to COVID-19 infection in this cold weather. UK variant has travelled to several other countries & also to India, this variant may have its own run & we've to very careful. One can't be careless.”
The Director General of Indian Council of Medical Research, urged to “not put too much immune pressure on virus” and “maintain judicious use of therapies which are going to benefit. If benefit isn't established we shouldn't use those therapies otherwise it will put pressure on virus & it'll tend to mutate more.”
The ban came into effect from 22 December midnight and will last till 31 December, the government added.
India has reported six cases of the new COVID-19 strain till now. The strain has been found to be 70 percent more transmissible and was first reported in Britain. All six patients had recently arrived from the UK.
(With inputs from ANI)
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