Has the UK variant of COVID-19 entered India? Passengers test positive at Delhi, Chennai airports

A total of six passengers from the UK have tested positive for COVID-19. But the question that remains to be answered is whether they are carrying the mutated virus.

By: Jahnavi Sarma | | Published: December 22, 2020 2:04 pm

Till now, the rules stated that if an international passenger had a COVID-19-negative certificate from a test done 72 hours prior to the journey, he or she need not undergo COVID-19 test again on arrival at the Indian airport.

Five passengers from the UK who arrived here at Indira Gandhi International Airport on Monday night have tested positive for the novel coronavirus. All these passengers have been sent to Sardar Patel Covid Centre in Chattarpur area of the national capital. A total of 250 passengers who arrived last night and have undergone the mandatory RT-PCR test at the airport. While 5 tested positive, the rest have tested negative for COVID-19. Sources told IANS that as many as 470 passengers from the UK have landed IGI till now in two flights. Also Read - COVID-19 vaccines: How It Works, Who Should Take It, Safety, Precautions And Thereafter

Meanwhile, a passenger who arrived in Chennai from London, has also tested positive for COVID-19, health department officials said on Tuesday. The test sample has been sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune to check whether it is the new mutant variant of the virus. The passenger has been transferred to the Kings Institute Hospital here and is currently under quarantine. However, no other details about the infected person was immediately available. Also Read - You are at higher risk to catch Coronavirus in closed spaces. Here’s how

Flights from UK banned till December 31

The first flight carrying 250 passengers to Delhi landed around 10.30 p.m. on Monday while the second flight carrying 220 passengers to the national capital landed at 6 a.m. on Tuesday. The passengers of the second flight are being tested. India on Monday announced that it has temporarily banned flights from the UK to the country after the emergence of a new and highly infectious strain of the coronavirus in Britain. The suspension of flights from the UK came into effect from December 22 midnight and will continue till December 31, the government added. Also Read - Patients with inactive cancer at high risk of severe COVID-19 infection; Study suggests

7-days isolation recommended, RT-PCR tests on all passengers from UK

Further, the ministry also added that as a measure of abundant precaution, passengers arriving from the UK in all transit flights (flights that have taken off or flights which are reaching India before 22nd Dec at 23.59 hrs) should be subject to mandatory RT-PCR test on arrival at the airports concerned. Also, seven-day isolation is advisable for passengers from the UK who test in RT-PCR and they will be medically monitored by the states/UTs. Till now, the rules stated that if an international passenger had a COVID-19-negative certificate from a test done 72 hours prior to the journey, he or she need not undergo COVID-19 test again on arrival at the Indian airport.

Will flight ban prevent entry of mutated virus?

Countries around the world have begun banning flights and travellers from Britain as London said on Sunday the spread of a more-infectious new coronavirus strain was now “out of control”. On Monday, India suspended all flights to and from the UK until December 31 as a precautionary measure following the discovery of the fast-spreading new COVID-19 variant in Britain. But the question that remains on everyone’s minds is whether this will be enough to prevent the mutated virus from entering the country. Till the test results of the infected passengers come back, it cannot be said with any certainty that we are safe from the special variant that is now ‘out of control’ in many European countries.

(With inputs from IANS)

Published : December 22, 2020 2:04 pm

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