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Amid precautions over mutated coronavirus, six passengers from UK test positive in India

Further tests are on to know if they have contracted the new strain of the pandemic

HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/AUSTRIA Representational image

Amid rising precautions over the discovery of a new strain of coronavirus in the UK, six passengers from the country—one in Chennai and five in Delhi—have tested positive for the pathogen. The samples have been sent to identify whether the passengers are carrying the new strains of the virus, and the passengers have been sent to care centre, reported news agency ANI. Further details are awaited. 

India had earlier suspended all passenger flights connecting to the UK from Wednesday till December 31 in the wake of the emergence of a mutated variant of the coronavirus there, joining several other countries that have imposed a similar flight ban.

Moreover, passengers coming from the UK through flights till Tuesday midnight would be tested for COVID-19 on arrival at airports "as a measure of abundant precaution", the civil aviation ministry said on Monday.

A number of countries like Canada, Turkey, Belgium, Italy and Israel have banned flights from the UK as the British government warned that the potent new strain of the virus was "out of control" and imposed a stringent new stay-at-home lockdown from Sunday.

Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Twitter that the passengers who are found COVID-19-positive would be sent for institutional quarantine set up by states or union territories (UTs).

"Those found negative should be advised to isolate at home for seven days and will be medically monitored by states/UTs," Puri added.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson last week said a fast-moving new variant of the virus that is 70 per cent more transmissible than existing strains appeared to be driving the rapid spread of new infections in London and southern England in recent weeks. But he stressed "there's no evidence to suggest it is more lethal or causes more severe illness," or that vaccines will be less effective against it.

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