Passengers who tested positive were transferred to separate quarantine units.
According to a Health Ministry directive, several states have stepped up their efforts to track and test people who have flown or transited from the UK between November 25 and December 23, in search of a more infectious version. of the COVID-19 virus. Flights between India and the United Kingdom remain suspended until December 31.
Eleven people, aboard four flights, tested positive for COVID-19 in Delhi and are now admitted to the government-run LNJP Hospital. The Delhi government has also asked the hospital to create a separate isolation unit for UK passengers who test positive.
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About 950 London passengers were tested at the airport and 11 of them tested positive, according to Genestrings Lab, which conducted the tests. Another 50 people were quarantined. Positive samples have been submitted to the National Center for Disease Control for genome sequencing.
2,724 in Tamil Nadu
In Tamil Nadu, the Health Department tracked 2,724 arrivals from or through the UK on different routes to the state from November 25 to December 23.
“We found that 179 were double entries. The reconciled figure of the United Kingdom with the State is 2,724. From this, as of Wednesday, we have tracked 996 people. We have obtained samples from 516 people. So far 203 samples have tested negative for COVID-19, “said Health Secretary J. Radhakrishnan.
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The Health Department is also monitoring 111 people who moved to a different district after returning. As of Thursday, only one person, a 25-year-old man who had returned from the UK by air via Delhi, had tested positive and was undergoing treatment in Chennai.
2,116 in Kerala
In Kerala, eight people tested positive for COVID-19, out of 1,609 travelers from the UK, who arrived in Kerala between December 9 and 23.
As part of the intensified surveillance that has begun in the state, health officials have tracked a total of 2,116 UK passengers who arrived in the state as of December 23.
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The 1,609 passengers were evaluated by RT-PCR and will be followed up for the next 14 days. Even those that tested negative will be retested by RT-PCR after quarantine. In addition to the eight passengers who tested positive, their domestic contacts will also be tested by PCR.
“Nasopharyngeal samples from the eight people who tested positive for COVID-19 will be sent to the National Institute of Virology in Pune for genome sequencing so that we can identify the virus strain. We have also identified DBT-inStem (Institute of Stem Cell Science and Regenerative Medicine), in Bangalore, as another place where we can perform genome sequencing, ”said the official.
2,127 in Karnataka
A total of 1,016 of the 2,127 returnees from the UK who arrived in Karnataka from December 1 to 22 have been screened. Six of them tested positive and their samples were sent for genome sequencing.
Home isolation is not allowed for UK passengers who test positive, regardless of symptoms, until genome sequencing is complete. So far, three people have tested positive and the results of genome sequencing are awaited. Sequencing of positive samples (which is done to determine if they are infected with the new strain of virus) is likely to take at least four days.
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“Until then, those who test positive will be isolated in a separate unit in an institutional isolation facility,” said Jawaid Akhtar, additional chief secretary (health and family welfare). The Hindu.
1,200 in Telangana
Seven people, out of a total of 1,200, who had flown to Hyderabad directly or via the UK since December 9, tested positive for the coronavirus. Samples from these seven positive cases will be sent to the Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) in Hyderabad to check whether the affected people had the mutated UK strain.
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Later, a press release said officials were trying to trace the main contacts of the positive cases. The health status of those who tested negative was also being monitored. Out of 1,200 returnees from the UK, up to 846 people were located and examined. Except for the seven, all the others tested negative.
68 in Andhra Pradesh
A woman who returned from the UK to Rajahmundry has been kept in isolation after testing positive. Overall, information is being collected on 68 people who have returned to Andhra Pradesh from the UK. The Health Department issued an alert on the likelihood of the new viral strain spreading on Tuesday, highlighting the need to improve epidemiological surveillance.
The Chittoor district administration received a list of 38 passengers arriving from London via New Delhi and Bangalore on Thursday. Efforts are underway to find out more details about them, according to District Medical and Health Officer (DMHO) M. Penchalaiah, who said surveillance teams had been formed to track them down.
(With contributions from Bureau)
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