The swab samples of a Covid-19-positive person, who had recently returned to Bhubaneswar from the United Kingdom, have been sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune to ascertain the new strain of coronavirus in him, informed Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) Commissioner Prem Chandra Chaudhury on Thursday.
The contact tracing activity has already been completed as per the Government guidelines. The swab samples collected from three family members of the UK returnee have tested negative for Covid-19. The patient is currently undergoing special treatment for the infection, Chaudhury told media.
Presence of new mutant of coronavirus would be detected following the test in Pune. Chaudhury appealed to residents of Bhubaneswar to follow the Covid guidelines without getting panicky. State Director of Medical Education and Training (DMET) Dr CBK Mohanty also cautioned to remain alert with strict adherence to the Covid protocols. “We have done contact tracing of the UK returnee and are examining the new strain,” Dr Mohanty told reporters while ruling out the possibility of a second Covid-19 wave in India. “The new strain was first detected in the UK in September. The positive cases with the new strain were detected in a handful of countries like Netherland and Denmark after the UK either in single or double digit.
It is being examined as to how fast the strain will infect individuals,” he said. “As it is being thought that the capacity of infection due to strain is higher, we need to be extra careful by identifying the persons with travel history of foreign countries. Even the returnees with flu-like symptoms need to share their travel details with the Government,” he added.
Speaking about the fresh case with travel history to the UK, Institute of Life Sciences, Bhubaneswar, Director Ajay Parida said the gene of the returnee would be tested. “The new strain has the capacity to spread infection more than other mutants of coronavirus. Therefore, we need to be more cautious in the fight against Covid-19,” he said.
As per reports, the 34-year-old male reached Bhubaneswar from the UK on December 18. He underwent tests at a private lab and his samples were found positive for Covid-19.