By Aminul Islam Mirja
NEW DELHI, Dec 23, 2020 (BSS) – Amid global fears over the new mutant strain of coronavirus, the Delhi government on Tuesday started door-to-door tracking of passengers, who returned from the United Kingdom since November 25.
It has also decided to conduct test to all the arrivals using the gold standard reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method by district surveillance team, according to state health ministry sources.
The decision has been taken in line with the central government’s guidelines that asked the states to conduct test to all passengers arriving from the UK aimed at containing spread of the most contagious and strain of coronavirous that has been detected in the UK in September.
The variant is significantly more transmissible than previously circulating variants, with an estimated increase in reproductive number (R) by 0.4 or greater with an estimated increased transmissibility of up to 70 per cent, according to a preliminary modelling results communicated by the UK on December 19.
Sources, however, said that nearly 7,000 passengers flew into the city from the UK in the last two weeks. Separate isolation wards for the UK returnees, who test positive, as per the latest Central government SOP, is being built in at least three Covid-19 facilities.
Meanwhile, India on Monday issued an order to suspend all flights to and from the UK between December 23 and December 31, joining a host of countries that are also doing so following the detection of a new variant of the Sars-CoV-2, the virus that causes the coronavirus disease.
More than 40 countries, including India, have banned travel to and from the UK, a move scientists said was necessary in view of the rapid spread of the new viral strain, VUI-202012/0, that was detected on September 21.
The new mutant strain coronavirous is believed to spread faster than its previous strains.
The Indian civil aviation ministry also noted passengers from all transit flights arriving from UK scheduled to reach India by December 22 will be subjected to mandatory RT-PCR tests on arrival.
Besides, the Karnataka government has announced Night Curfew from 10:00 PM to 6:00 am till January 2 amid global fears over the new mutant strain of coronavirus.
Karnataka is the second state after Maharashtra to announce new restrictions this week as concern grows over the new strain, which is believed to be 70 per cent more infectious.
All passengers coming from the UK will have to undergo COVID-19 RT-PCR tests within 72 hours. The new restrictions are likely to cloud the Christmas and New Year celebrations.
“Between December 23 and January 2, no event or festive celebration is allowed to take place after 10 pm. It applies to every kind of event,” NDTV quoted Karnataka Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar as saying.
On Monday, Maharashtra announced an 11 PM to 6 AM night curfew till January 5 in Mumbai and other cities.
The new strain was first detected in the UK in September. In November, around a quarter of cases in London were the new variant. This reached nearly two-thirds of the cases in mid-December. The strain has also been found in Australia, South Africa, Brazil and Italy.
According to Union Health Ministry the number of daily new coronavirus infections reported in India was recorded below 20,000 after nearly six months while the COVID-19 active caseload fell below three lakh.
India’s COVID-19 caseload rose to 1,00,75,116 with 19,556 new infections being reported in a day. The death toll increased to 1,46,111 with 301 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed, news agency PTI reported.