Coronavirus: All 25 patients have been kept in isolation at designated health facilities.
New Delhi:
Five new cases of the UK coronavirus strain have been detected, bringing the total number of patients to 25. The highly infectious mutant strain, which first appeared in the UK in September, was found to reach the India two days ago with travelers returning from the European nation.
Four of the five new cases were found by the National Institute of Virology, Pune and the remaining one was sequenced at IGIB (Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology), Delhi, the health ministry said.
All 25 patients have been kept in isolation in designated health facilities.
The situation has raised concerns about a further increase in infection, which has been controlled from a peak of 97,000 cases a day. The daily increase is now around 20,000 cases.
Doctors have said that the UK strain of the virus is super infectious, 70 per cent more than the existing one.
The Center has embarked on a massive genome sequencing project involving 10 laboratories across the country to monitor the virus before it spreads. On the list are those of the 33,000 passengers who tested positive for coronavirus upon their return from the UK.
The group can be expanded, and the government decides to track and test passengers who came to the country from abroad for 14 days in December.
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