Coronavirus: India suspended flights from the UK last week for fear of the mutant strain.
New Delhi:
The Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Hardeep Singh Puri, said today that he envisages “a brief extension” of the suspension of flights from the United Kingdom to contain the spread of the new strain of coronavirus that was detected for the first time in that country. The forecast comes a day when India reported the first six cases of the mutant strain among people who returned from the UK.
Last week, the government banned flights from the UK until December 31 and all passengers arriving from the UK must be screened upon arrival at airports.
“I anticipate a short extension of this temporary suspension. I don’t see that the extension is long or indefinite,” Puri told reporters.
Of the six who tested positive for the rapidly spreading British strain believed to be 70% more infectious, three of the patients are at NIMHANS, Bengaluru, two at the Center for Cell and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, and one at the Institute. National Virology Department, Pune.
All patients have been kept in “single room isolation” in health facilities designated by state governments. His close contacts have also been quarantined. A full contact tracing has been initiated for fellow travelers, their families and others, the government said.
Around 33,000 passengers arrived from the UK between November 25 and December 23. Of them, 114 tested positive for Covid. Genome sequencing for other specimens is on, the government said. The states where these passengers arrived, meanwhile, is tracking them and their contacts for Covid RT-PCR testing.
The British variant of the coronavirus strain has been detected in Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia, Italy, Sweden, France, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Canada, Japan, Lebanon, and Singapore so far.
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