Seventeen people who have recently returned from the United Kingdom and two family members of such returnees have been confirmed positive for coronavirus in Maharashtra so far, a health official said.
“Their samples have been sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune to find out if they are carrying the new strain of the virus that was detected in the UK,” he said. S
Screening of passengers travelling from the United Kingdom started after a new strain of coronavirus had been identified in that region. Flights from the United Kingdom were banned earlier this week.
In the last few days, as many as 1,222 passengers who had arrived in Maharashtra from the United Kingdom had been screened using RT-PCR kits and results of 16 returned positive.
As per protocol, we also tested 72 kin-contacts (relatives who came into contact with each other) of these 16, and two relatives were identified with the infection,” the official said.
All passengers arriving in the United Kingdom from November 25 to December 23 will be screened to see if any of them are carrying a new strain.
