Amid Fear Over New Corona Strain, 5 From Britain In Ahmedabad & 8 In Amritsar Tested Covid Positive

While the new mutation of Coronavirus reported from the UK has become a cause of concern, here are details about the passengers from Britain who were tested Covid-19 positive upon arrival in India.

Representational Image (Photo by YASSER AL-ZAYYAT / AFP)

New Delhi: Five passengers in Ahmedabad and eight at Amritsar Airport who arrived from Britain have tested positive for Coronavirus infection. This development has been reported amid rising concerns over the new strain of Covid-19 that has been detected in the UK.  Out of the 5 passengers who arrived at Ahmedabad airport, one is reported to be a British citizen. They were admitted to a hospital after testing positive. Similarly, even at the Delhi airport, out people who arrived from Britain - 5 had tested Covid positive. The count at Amritsar airport for Coronavirus cases from the UK was eight. Earlier on Sunday night, two passengers on a flight from the UK had tested positive at Kolkata airport, PTI reported citing state health department officials. The flight carried 222 passengers in all. A passenger who took a connecting flight to Chennai today - tested positive there, according to an agency report. "We are testing for Covid-19 passengers of flights originating or halting in the UK. One such passenger tested positive yesterday," Tamil Nadu Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan told ANI. However, he added that "it's incorrect to presume that he is infected with the UK variant of Covid. We'll send his samples to NIV (National Institute of Virology), Pune." As per the new directives, the flights from the UK stand suspended temporarily from 23rd December till 31st December 2020 or till further orders. Guidelines have been issued over the same wherein RT-PCR tests have been made mandatory. First identified in the UK in September, the new strain of Coronavirus is rapidly replacing other variations of the virus, according to the World Health Organisation. The organisation further stated that the mutant strain reported to have a 70% higher rate of transmission, may already be present in several countries, although it was "unlikely that a couple of mutations" could affect the immune system's response to an existing vaccine.