Assam, Dec 25: Amid global concerns over the new coronavirus strain, a woman traveller from the UK, who arrived Assam a few days back, has tested positive for Covid19 and has been admitted to the isolation ward of Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH).
State health authorities said they have identified 110 people who have come from the UK in the last one month and 67 of them have been traced and tested for Covid19 so far, and first in Assam. The lone woman traveller found positive is a working professional in Britain.
The sample of the woman, who tested positive, has been collected and will be sent to the National Institute of Virology in Pune for verification. Health officials said her contact tracing is being done vigorously.
Assam airports do not have direct flight connectivity with any of the airports in Europe, these 110 passengers landed in the state as domestic passengers.
NHM Assam director Lakshmanan S said the health the department is following each of the travellers who have arrived from the UK in recent times.
“If some of the UK returnees are tested with the new coronavirus strain, those people who travelled with them in the same flight have a high chance of turning out positive due to the high transmission rate,” he said.
The SOP issued by the Centre describes the activities to be undertaken at the point of entry and in the community for all international passengers who have travelled from or transited through the UK in the past four weeks (from November 25 to December 23, 2020).
“Respective state governments shall ensure that all passengers travelling from or transiting through airports in the UK and disembarking in India would be subjected to RT-PCR test on arrival. In the case of a positive sample, it is recommended that spike gene-based RT-PCR test should also, be performed by an appropriate laboratory,” it says.
Health officials said the travellers who have come from the UK are being tested and put under quarantine as per protocol to stop any possibility of the spread of the new variant of the SARS- CoV 2 virus.
The SOP issued by the Union health ministry stated that this variant of the virus is estimated to be more transmissible and affecting the younger population.
