The Indian Ministry of Health said on the 4th local time that according to the genome sequencing results, nine more confirmed patients with COVID-19 were found to have the same viral gene sequence as the mutant novel coronavirus found in the United Kingdom.
This brings the number of patients infected with mutant COVID-19 to 38 in India.
So far, 19 virus samples of mutant COVID-19 patients have come from New Delhi, 10 from Bangalore, 5 from Pune, 3 from Hyderabad, and 1 from Kalyani, West Bengal.
In a statement, the Ministry of Health of India said that all infected people have been quarantined in independent wards in medical institutions designated by state governments.
Their travel contacts and close contacts are also being tracked and quarantined, and the health department has genetically sequenced the contact samples.
India’s Ministry of Health has recommended to states that strict control be exercised on the testing and transportation of virus samples.
According to data from the Government of India, from 25 November to midnight on 23 December 2020, approximately 33,000 passengers arrived at airports across India from the United Kingdom.
The government requires all passengers entering the UK to undergo medical follow-up observation and nucleic acid testing.
