NEW DELHI: Ten regional laboratories have been identified by the Centre where states will send five per cent of their Covid-19 positive samples for genome sequencing to detect the new coronavirus variant that has emerged in the United Kingdom recently.
The health ministry has also established the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) for laboratory and epidemiological surveillance and expand whole genome sequencing of the coronavirus in the country, aiding in the understanding of how the virus spreads and evolves.
The emergence of the new coronavirus strain in the UK has required India to increase viral genomic surveillance in order to understand the spread of the virus in a rapid and robust manner.
Read more about Chandigarh admin gathers info of all UK returnees who travelled to UT on Business Standard. As per an official release, the UT administration said out of 132, a total of 95 people have been physically verified and an undertaking of self-quarantine for 14 days has been taken
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Chandigarh admin gathers information of all UK returnees who travelled to UT ANI | Updated: Dec 27, 2020 05:27 IST
Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], December 27 (ANI): Amid concerns about a new strain of COVID-19 found in the United Kingdom (UK), Chandigarh administration on Saturday said it was able to successfully gather information about all 132 UK returnees who travelled to Union Territory since December 9, and physically verified 95 of them.
As per an official release, the UT administration said out of 132, a total of 95 people have been physically verified and an undertaking of self-quarantine for 14 days has been taken. All are asymptomatic and RT-PCR negative (all were tested before boarding their flights), it stated.
In the wake of a new variant of SARS-CoV-2 virus detected in the United Kingdom, Ministry of Health on Wednesday issued the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) at the point of entry and in the community for all international passengers who have travelled from or transited through the country in the past four weeks (from November 25 to December 23). A press release by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare stated the new variant of SARS-CoV-2 virus (under investigation) has been reported by the Government of United Kingdom (UK) to World Health Organization (WHO). This variant is estimated by European Centre for Disease Control to be more transmissible and affecting younger population. This variant is defined by a set of 17 changes or mutations. One of the most significant is an N501Y mutation in the spike protein that the virus uses to bind to the human ACE2 receptor. Changes in this part of the spike protein may result in the virus becoming more infectious and spreading more