BENGALURU,Dec 29:
Indian health authorities said on Tuesday they had found six people who had returned from Britain in recent weeks positive for the new more infectious strain of the coronavirus.
All six patients have been kept in isolation, India’s health ministry said in a statement. “Their close contacts have also been put under quarantine,” the statement said.
As many as 46 travellers who returned from Britain have tested positive for Covid-19 in the last 24 hours. Most of the samples of the passengers who tested positive were sent to the National Institute of Virology for genome sequencing to determine whether any of the patients are carrying the new strain of Covid-19 found in the UK. The results of genome sequencing are not out yet.
With today’s count, the total number of UK returned travellers who tested positive for Covid-19 in the last 10 days has grown to 233.
Last week, the ministry had ordered tracking and testing of over 33,000 persons who arrived from the UK between November 25 to December 23 as a part of its preventive strategy to contain the virus.
About 114 returnees were found Covid-19 positve and their samples were sent to laboratories for genome sequencing.
Karnataka Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar on Monday hinted at stringent action against those returnees from the United Kingdom who were untraceable and had switched off their mobile phones.
It could even be police action against them, the minister indicated.
"I request the UK returnees to cooperate with us as responsible citizens. You have to get tested. If you don't get tested and switch off your phone, then it's a crime in true sense," Sudhakar told reporters here.
Replying to queries, he said he would hold a meeting with Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai after the cabinet meeting because the UK returnees could not be tracked, have switched off their phones and were not responding to requests through media and social media.
Among the states and Union territories where passengers from the UK tested positive in the last 24 hours, Goa topped the list with 13 cases, followed by Maharashtra (nine cases) and Uttarakhand (six). Among the states where UK returned travellers have tested positive in the last 10 days, Maharashtra tops the list with 32 cases, followed by Goa (29 cases), Karnataka (26), Telangana (21) and Delhi (20).