The woman is now in quarantine and test results are awaited to confirm whether she is infected with the new variant of SARS-CoV-2 found in the UK.
A 47-year-old woman from Andhra Pradesh, who tested positive for the coronavirus in Delhi after arriving from the UK, has caused panic among people in her hometown of Rajahmundry in Andhra Pradesh. The woman was one of several passengers who arrived from the UK and tested positive for the coronavirus. The woman, accompanied by her 22-year-old son, took a train back to Rajahmundry, rather than remain isolated in Delhi. Since then, police and health officials have located the woman and quarantined her at East Godavari District COVID-19 Hospital in Rajahmundry.
Read also: Explained: what we know about the new mutant strain of coronavirus in the UK
The woman, who is a private school teacher in the Hukumpeta area of Rajahmundry, landed in Delhi on Monday night. After testing positive using a rapid antigen test, she was reportedly sent to Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi along with her son. After testing positive for an RT-PCR test performed at the hospital, the hospital authorities reportedly advised him to remain in home isolation, after which he boarded a train to Rajahmundry.
However, the exact instructions he received at the Delhi hospital are not known. East Godavari District Health Services Coordinator Dr. T Ramesh Kishore told TNM that the woman claimed that she was advised by hospital authorities to remain in home quarantine. There have been similar reports of other COVID-19 patients from the UK being recommended home isolation as a result of a lack of communication.
The Delhi authorities reportedly informed Andhra Pradesh health officials of her case, and upon discovering that the woman and her son had gone by train to their hometown, police and health officials located her at his arrival in Rajahmundry on Wednesday evening. The woman has now been quarantined at the Rajahmundry government hospital.
Addressing fears about the new variant of the virus, Andhra Pradesh Health Minister Alla Kali Krishna Srinivas (Nani) said on Thursday that so far, the new variant has yet to be detected in the state. He said the sample from the Rajahmundry woman has been sent to NIV Pune, for confirmation on the virus variant, and results are expected within 2-3 days.
Read also: Andhra Pradesh to track, test and quarantine all returnees from the UK
While test results for NIV Pune are still awaited, the incident has sparked panic as the new SARS-CoV-2 variant recently identified in the UK was found to have much higher transmissibility, and fears that the woman may have infected fellow travelers during the train journey. Addressing these concerns, Ramesh Kishore said: “They had traveled in a first class AC coach that was not very crowded. Our concern is for the catering staff who could have come into contact, but they were already taking precautions and we have warned the railway authorities.
.
