December 22, 2020 5:06:43 am
“Due to the new variant of Covid-19 [in the UK and other countries], we are taking extra precautions and will have to be more vigilant over the next 15 days, “said Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. (Archive)
At least three states, including Delhi, announced on Monday precautions against the new strain of the novel coronavirus detected in the United Kingdom and some other countries, and to prevent uncontrolled transmission of the infection during the Christmas and New Year celebrations.
Maharashtra declared a nightly curfew from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. in cities across the state from Tuesday through January 5. The decision aims to clamp down on large gatherings for Christmas and New Years, which could lead to a faster spread of the infection, sources. said.
The state government has also decided that all international travelers from Europe and Middle Eastern countries will be placed in mandatory institutional quarantine, while those flying from other countries will be quarantined at home.
The Delhi government will test all passengers on the three UK flights that are scheduled to land in the capital on Tuesday.
Before the Center announced the suspension of flights to and from the UK, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal posted on Twitter on Monday: “A new coronavirus mutation has emerged in the UK, which is a super-spreader. I urge the central government to ban all flights from the UK immediately. “
Senior Deputy Minister Manish Sisodia told The Indian Express: “Over the past two weeks, 4,200 people have come to Delhi from the UK. A list of these people has been prepared, along with their contact numbers. District-level teams will contact each person and test will be conducted. Efforts will be made to contain the possible spread of the mutated virus. But tomorrow, 400 more people will land on the last flights to the country from the UK. “
Sources from the Delhi Department of Health said that samples with positive results would be kept for 14 days to allow genome sequencing.
The Karnataka government said on Monday that people coming from the UK, Denmark and the Netherlands on direct or transit flights must be quarantined for 14 days.
Karnataka has also sought passenger manifests for all arrivals to the UK since December 7 to carry out coronavirus screening.
“Those who have come from the UK in the last 14 days should have RT-PCR tests and be vigilant. Those who are positive must have a genetic analysis in the NIMHANS laboratory to understand the strain of the virus, ”Karnataka Health Minister Dr. K Sudhakar said Monday.
“In recent days we have learned that in some European countries (United Kingdom, Holland and Denmark) a new mutation of the virus has been detected. What we do know is that it is more contagious than the strain previously seen in the country, ”Sudhakar said.
Maharashtra’s decision to impose a night curfew comes just one day after Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said he was not in favor of night curfews or closed closures as the situation was now under control. But he had a rethink after a meeting with senior officials to assess the state of the pandemic.
“Due to the new variant of Covid-19 [in the UK and other countries]We are taking extra precautions and will have to be more vigilant over the next 15 days, ”said the Chief Minister. He said that since the extent of the danger from the new strain would be known in the coming days, “the maximum alert must be maintained throughout the state as of today.”
Sources said the nightly curfew will not affect the supply of staples such as milk and vegetables, and was aimed at stopping large gatherings in hotels, restaurants and pubs for New Year’s celebrations.
Hotels and restaurants, which have been hit hard by the pandemic and expected some business at the end of the year, expressed disappointment with the government’s decision.
Maharashtra has so far recorded 18.99 lakhs of Covid-19 cases and 48,801 deaths from the disease. However, new detections have dropped significantly in recent days; the state registered just 2,834 new cases Tuesday. It has 59,469 active cases today.
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