Express News Service
CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu Health Department has expressed concern after a man, who arrived from Britain in transit from Delhi, tested positive for the coronavirus in Chennai on Tuesday.
This comes amid fears about a new variant of COVID-19 that is spreading rapidly in Britain and is reportedly ‘highly contagious’.
Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan, who inspected the Chennai airport on Tuesday morning, said the passenger’s samples were sent to the National Institute of Virology in Pune for genomic analysis and to see if the man is infected with the new strain. .
Speaking to the media, the state Health Secretary also said that all passengers who arrived in Tamil Nadu from the UK in the last ten days are being tracked. Tracking is done according to the electronic pass list.
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The COVID positive passenger has been admitted to the Covid pavilion at The King Institute, Guindy. Doctors said the patient is asymptomatic and is being monitored.
The case came to light after the state health department examined all the passengers who landed in Chennai via Delhi on Monday night.
The Health Secretary also said that people should not panic over reports of a new strain and that the government is taking all measures to prevent it.
The state is also monitoring passengers who land at other airports within its jurisdiction. Elaborate arrangements are being made at the airport to carry out RT-PCR tests.
The Center temporarily banned all flights from the UK arriving in India after the emergence of a new strain of the coronavirus.
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