Genome sequencing will be performed on all symptomatic Covid positive international flyers (archive)
New Delhi:
Genome sequencing will be carried out on all international passengers who exhibited symptoms and tested positive for coronavirus in the past 14 days, the government said after six people tested positive for the UK super-infectious strain of the virus today.
While the country has temporarily banned flights from the UK, the UK strain of the virus, which is said to be 70 percent more contagious, has reached Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia, Italy, Sweden, France, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Canada, Japan. Lebanon and Singapore.
Earlier today, the government said the situation is “under surveillance.”
The samples are currently being tested in INSACOG laboratories, the genomic surveillance consortium formed to detect the presence of different strains of coronavirus in India.
Ten labs across the country will carry out genome sequencing, the government said.
In the coming days, the government also plans to perform genome sequencing for the 5 percent of people who have tested positive in the country since November 23.
The samples must have “an adequate representation, particularly from metropolitan cities where there is a high probability of having the new variant of SARS-CoV-2,” the government said.
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