India has registered its first six cases of the new mutant strain of the coronavirus , the Union Health Ministry said on Tuesday. The patie...
India has registered its first six cases of the new mutant strain of the coronavirus, the Union Health Ministry said on Tuesday. The patients recently returned from the United Kingdom, where the new strain was first reported.
In a statement, the health ministry said three cases were reported from Bengaluru, two from Hyderabad and one from Pune. “All these persons have been kept in single room isolation in designated health care facilities by respective state governments,” the statement said. “Their close contacts have also been put under quarantine. Comprehensive contact tracing has been initiated for co-travellers, family contacts and others. Genome sequencing on other specimens is going on.”
So far, the new variant of the infection has been reported in Denmark, Netherlands, Australia, Italy, Sweden, France, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Canada, Japan, Lebanon and Singapore.
The new variant
More than 50 countries, including India, have imposed travel restrictions on the UK, in an effort to prevent the spread of the new variant. India has suspended flights from the UK till December 31. Some, like France, have imposed total border closures amid widespread disruptions in trade and travel.
The new UK virus variant, which scientists have named “VUI – 202012/01”, includes a genetic mutation in the “spike” protein, which could result in coronavirus spreading more easily between people....
