State ups ante against virus spread after two from UK test positive
Kolkata: State Health department has been closely monitoring the situation after a fresh scare about a new strain of
Coronavirus was triggered following an incident where two UK returned passengers
tested Covid positive soon after their arrival at the Calcutta airport. The government has also
According to the Health department sources, their Covid samples have been sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) Pune for genome sequencing study. It would determine if the Covid patients are carrying the existing strain of SARS-CoV-2 or the mutant strain which was found among the people in the UK.
It is suspected that their reports are different from that of other Covid infected patients from the state. Senior health department officials have already conducted a meeting to chalk out plans on how to take various precautionary measures if these patients are found to be carrying new strain of
the virus as it would be more infectious.
The emergence of a new strain of Coronavirus has led to the lockdown in London for another time.
The health department officials indicate that if the new variant is found in the samples, the patients will have to be kept in a separate isolation unit. The health officials on Tuesday also discussed how the patients would be kept if a new variant of SARC-CoV-2 is found.
The patients would be treated as per the standard protocols, a senior health
official said.
It may be mentioned here that around 25 passengers failed to produce Covid reports after arriving Calcutta airport last Sunday and hence they were taken to a quarantine center and Covid tests were performed on them. Two tested positive for Covid. One has been
undergoing treatment at Calcutta Medical College and the other at the CNCI, New Town.
Dr Gopeswar Mukherjee, a senior pathologist from the city said that this new strain is more infectious, its virulence vis-Ã -vis the existing variant has not been confirmed.
It is a matter of concern but nothing to get panicked.
