While investigating nine people who returned to Agra from UK, a person was suspected to be infected with a new strain of the coronavirus.
Uttar Pradesh government has issued an alert over the new strain of COVID-19, after which 58 people from Agra with travel history to the United Kingdom between December 9 and December 22 were identified by the district health department as of now.
After contacting them, samples of all these people have been sent for lab testing. They have been directed to stay in home isolation for 28 day. Family members and close contacts of these people will also be tested for COVID-19. This step has been taken amid concerns over a new variant of the novel coronavirus detected in the United Kingdom.
However, the Uttar Pradesh Health Department is facing major problems in connecting to those who have recently returned from the UK, since many of them have switched off their mobile phones.
Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Lucknow Sanjay Bhatnagar on Thursday said, "The central government has provided a list of those returning from the UK to Uttar Pradesh, including those coming to the state capital. But it only mentions their phone numbers. Efforts are on to contact them but most of them have switched off their phones." Many have been traced and efforts are on to connect with others, the CMO said.
In the wake of the emergence of the mutated strain of the virus, flights between India and the United Kingdom have been suspended from Wednesday till December 31 or till further orders. Centre has advised all states to ensure that passengers from the UK should undergo RT-PCR test and be isolated in a separate unit of an institutional facility if found positive.
Meanwhile, a symptomatic patient who recently returned from the UK has caused some worry for the health department officials. While investigating nine people who returned to Agra from UK, a person was suspected to be infected with a new strain of the coronavirus.
The first RT-PCR report of the patient was negative. Health department is again sending his samples for lab testing as he has all the symptoms of the novel coronavirus. The district administration issued an alert in Agra, making it mandatory for all people who returned from England and abroad to conduct a corona check this month itself.
Collector Prabhu N Singh has issued these orders after the investigation of passengers returning from abroad and the threat of a new strain.
In UP's Meerut city three members of the same family who returned from the UK have tested positive for COVID-19. All these three members returned from London on December 14. All three returnees are feared to be carrying the new strain of coronavirus, said a source.
On December 25, 63 new positive cases of Coronavirus was reported in Meerut alone, taking its total tally to 20,402.
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