India has already imposed a temporary ban on all flights to and from the UK (Representative)
New Delhi:
A mutated and more aggressive strain of the new coronavirus, which was first identified in the UK in September, has not been seen in India until now, the government said Tuesday.
The new strain of the virus – initial data suggests it is transmitted at least 70 percent more easily – has raised concern around the world, amid rising infection rates in the UK and fears that the first batch of vaccines not as effective against mutation.
“The new strain or mutation of (the) coronavirus in the UK has not been seen in India, until now,” said Dr VK Paul, a member of the government think tank NITI Aayog.
“(And) as of now, it has no impact on the potential of the vaccines that are being developed in our country and (that) are available in other countries,” he added.
India has joined more than 25 countries in imposing a temporary ban on all flights to and from the UK; The ban begins at midnight on Wednesday and runs until December 31.
This morning, the government also announced SOP for all incoming passengers until then.
SOPs include mandatory RT-PCR testing for all arrivals and isolation for those who test positive, as well as institutional quarantine for passenger contacts who test positive. According to the government, the “contacts” will include all those within the three rows of the infected passenger.
Eight passengers who arrived last night on two separate flights from London tested positive for the virus. Those on a British Airways flight that landed in the national capital today are being tested.
On Monday, Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, chief scientist at the World Health Organization (WHO), said that the mutated strain (called B.1.1.7) may already be present in other countries. Cases of the mutated virus, which has around 17 potentially significant changes to its viral genetic code, have been reported in Italy, Australia, Denmark and the Netherlands, with another mutation detected in South Africa.
“The UK is one of those countries that is doing a lot of whole genome sequencing and is therefore able to track this very closely in real time. I suspect that as more countries look at their data, they might find this variant or a related variant, it might already be there, “Dr. Swaminathan told NDTV.
However, he also said that it is still too early to draw conclusions about the new strain, which according to initial data is up to 70 percent more transmissible, and that it is “unlikely that a couple of mutations” could affect the response of the system. immune to one of the existing Covid vaccines.
Also on Monday, the head of the European Union’s drug regulator said the Pfizer vaccine could protect against the new virus. The vaccine, which has already been launched in the UK and has been approved by the US and the EU, is one of three being considered for emergency use in India.
The developers of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine have said their vaccine will be “very effective” against the mutated virus.
Last week the Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan urged people not to panic over the new UK strain and said the situation is under control. “Right now, I would say, don’t bother with imaginary situations … The government is fully alert,” he said.
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