58 persons infected with new COVID-19 strain so far: Health Ministry

New Delhi: Twenty more persons tested Covid-19 positive with the UK strain of SARS-CoV-2 virus, taking the total number of infections of the mutant strain in India to 58, according to the Union Health Ministry.

The Centre has advised states to step up surveillance and containment measures.

On Tuesday, 11 samples of the mutant strain were detected at IGIB, New Delhi, 10 at NIMHANS-Bengaluru, 8 at NCDC-New Delhi, 25 at NIV-Pune, 1 at NIBMG-Kolkata and 3 at CCMB-Hyderabad. 

The additional 20 Covid-19 cases with the new virus strain were all tested at NIV-Pune.

All these persons have been kept in single room isolation in designated Health Care facilities by respective state governments. 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, according to a ministry statement.

The Centre has set up 10 INSACOG labs for genome sequencing of the UK returnees and their contacts who have tested positive for Covid-19. Besides the six labs that have detected the mutant strain, NCBS-InSTEM in Bengaluru, CDFD in Hyderabad, ILS in Bhubaneswar and NCCS in Pune have been designated as INSACOG labs.

So far the new UK variant of the coronavirus has already been detected in Denmark, Netherlands, Australia, Italy, Sweden, France, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Canada, Japan, Lebanon and Singapore.