India implemented a ban on all flights to and from the UK on December 21. Photo credit: PTI
Key points
- The Health Ministry noted that approximately 33,000 passengers had arrived at various airports in India from the UK between November 25 and December 23, stating that of the samples collected from the returnees, 114 had tested positive for COVID-19. .
- The positive samples have been sent to ten regional laboratories across the country for genome sequencing.
- As part of the government’s improved surveillance and testing procedures, states will now send five percent of all coronavirus positive samples to these labs for genome sequencing to identify whether the new strain has spread.
The Union Ministry of Health has confirmed that India has detected six cases of the recently discovered COVID-19 variant in the UK. The ministry stated that all six carriers of the new mutant strain had recently returned from the UK. The variant was detected in swab samples sent to NIMHANS in Bengaluru, CCMB in Hyderabad and NIV in Pune.
“All of these people have been kept in single room isolation in health care facilities designated by the respective state governments. His close contacts have also been quarantined. A full contact tracing has been started for fellow travelers, family contacts, and others. Genome sequences in other specimens are happening, ”the ministry said.
It also noted that approximately 33,000 passengers had arrived at various airports in India from the UK between November 25 and December 23, indicating that of the samples collected from the returnees, 114 had tested positive for COVID-19. The positive samples were sent to ten regional laboratories across the country for genome sequencing.
As part of the government’s improved surveillance and testing procedures, states will now send five percent of all coronavirus positive samples to these labs for genome sequencing to identify whether the new strain has spread. The Ministry of Health has also created the India SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) to carry out epidemiological and laboratory surveillance. Once the genome sequencing data has been analyzed by the respective centers in the states, it will be sent to the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) for collection.
In response to the threat of the new mutant strain, which is believed to be 70 percent more transmissible than the previously prevalent strain, India last week suspended all flights to and from the UK until the turn of the year. . Just a day before India’s ban on December 21, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the emergence of the ‘out of control’ variant, tweeting “Given the preliminary evidence we have on this new variant of the virus and the potential risk it represents, It is with great regret that I must tell you that we cannot continue with Christmas as planned.
Several countries, including Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden, France, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Japan, Singapore, Australia and Canada, have already reported that the strain has crossed their borders. Many of these countries have also implemented travel bans similar to those of India.
The discovery of the new strain last week has raised serious questions about whether current vaccines, either in development or already approved, can become ineffective. However, the general consensus among the epidemiological community is that while there is currently no reason to believe that vaccines may not be effective against the latest strain, the situation needs to be closely monitored with further genome sequencing.
They have pointed out that the COVID-19 vaccines in development do not depend on a single type of antibody, but instead trigger the generation of different types to confer protection.
After reaching a peak daily case burden in September, daily COVID-19 cases in India have been gradually declining. In the last 24 hours, the country registered 16,432 new cases, the lowest since the end of June. However, in light of the UK’s new variant, several states have been quick to seek to implement stricter mobility restrictions and curfews out of fear that the New Year’s celebrations will bring a resurgence of the virus.
