Amid the discovery of a new, more infectious coronavirus strain in the UK, five people out of 266 passengers and flight crew members tested positive for the new coronavirus in India. The flight arrived at Delhi airport from London on Monday evening, according to reports.
Talking to the news agency AND ME, the Covid-19 Nodal officer said his samples were sent to the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) for investigation and sent to a care facility.
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However, India has yet to detect the new strain of coronavirus that has spread to some parts of the UK. Virology experts who have been performing genome sequencing have confirmed that they have not come across this particular strain as of now.
The government announced on Monday that it temporarily banned flights from the UK to India after the emergence of a highly infectious new strain of the coronavirus in Britain.
The suspension of flights from the UK will take effect from Tuesday at midnight and will continue until December 31, the government added.
All passengers arriving in India from the UK by Tuesday will need to be tested.
On Twitter, the Ministry of Civil Aviation said: “Taking into account the prevailing situation in the UK, the Government of India has decided that all UK-origin flights to India will be temporarily suspended until 11:59 pm on December 31. This suspension will begin at 11:59 p.m. on December 22. “
The new Covid strain is 70% more transmissible
The new Covid-19 strain is feared to be more infectious and could be 70% more transmissible, experts in the UK said, prompting more than 40 countries, including India, to suspend flight operations.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said the new fast-moving variant of the virus, which is 70% more transmissible than existing strains, appears to be driving the rapid spread of new infections in London and the south from England in recent weeks.
However, he stressed the fact that “there is no evidence to suggest that it is more lethal or causes a more serious disease,” or that vaccines will be less effective against it.
Meanwhile, nations around the world have closed their borders to Britain amid fears of a highly infectious new strain of Covid-19, causing travel chaos and increasing the possibility of food shortages.
Countries such as India, Pakistan, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Russia, Jordan, France, Hong Kong and others have suspended travel to the UK after Johnson said a mutated variant of the virus had been identified in the country.
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