Passengers with a history of travel to the UK will need to be screened at Bhubaneswar airport.
Bhubaneswar:
A 34-year-old returnee from the UK tested positive for COVID-19 and was hospitalized in the state capital, authorities said Wednesday.
The man returned to the state on December 18 amid concerns over the detection of a mutated and more infectious strain of COVID-19 in the European country, said Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) Commissioner PC Chaudhury.
“The man tested positive in a private laboratory. He was transferred to a government-sponsored COVID hospital,” said a statement from BMC, adding that he has mild flu-like symptoms.
“Confirmation testing of Spike’s genome sequencing is being conducted through RMRC (IMRC Regional Medical Research Center), Bhubaneswar to determine the COVID strain,” the official said.
However, he said there is nothing to cause panic, and that it is only a precautionary measure due to the detection of the mutated strain of the virus in the UK.
Meanwhile, the BMC has completed contact tracing and all members of his family will also be tested for COVID-19, Chaudhury said.
Officials at Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIAP) have asked all airline operators to share details about the passengers, who have recently returned from foreign countries, airport executive director Goutam Ray told PTI.
Passengers with a history of travel to the UK will be screened at a special kiosk set up by BMC in the airport terminal.
“We have made the COVID-19 RT-PCR test mandatory for passengers 55 and older with comorbidities,” Ray said.
The Center said on Monday that all flights between the UK and India will be suspended from December 23 to December 31 in light of the emergence of a new strain of coronavirus in that country.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
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