UK returnees on test alert - state detected one of at least six cases found in India with the new strain - is a cause for worry

The state health department outlined new guidelines in its order for the UK returnees.: Shutterstock

Meghdeep Bhattacharyya And Snehamoy Chakraborty   |   TT   |   Calcutta   |   01.01.21, 01 : 

The Mamata Banerjee government directed all district health units to map and test all those who returned to Bengal from the UK in the past month after the state reported its first case of the mutant Covid strain.

The new strain is a cause for worry as Bengal and the UK have considerable two-way traffic, sources said.

The state detected one of at least six cases found in India with the new strain — the VUI-202012/01, which includes a genetic mutation in the “spike” protein. State government sources said that after UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the new strain might be up to 70 per cent more transmissible than the original, Bengal went on high alert trying to track, trace and test all UK-returnees in December and people they have come in contact with.

A source close to Mamata Banerjee said the chief minister got worried after a youth — the son of a senior official in the Calcutta Medical College and Hospital — was detected with the mutant strain after he returned to Bengal from the UK around 10 days ago. “We achieved a major turnaround since Durga Puja in Covid-19 management. But UK returnees infected with this new strain could potentially lead to a public health hazard,” the source said.

The state health department of which Mamata is the minister-in-charge outlined new guidelines in its order for the UK returnees, asking to keep them under observation for 28 days since their arrival.

The order said that all who arrived over the past month from the UK must be tested by the RT-PCR method after sample collection at home. District surveillance officers must ensure follow-ups daily for those crucial 28 days. Also, the persons concerned would be requested to self-monitor symptoms such as fever, cough and breathing problems for those 28 days. “If they develop symptoms, they have to put on a mask, isolate themselves at home and inform the district surveillance officer or state helpline,” the order reads. “All the community contacts (without any exception) of those travellers who have tested positive will be subjected to institutional quarantine in a separate quarantine centre….” it added.

On Thursday — the last day of 2020 — Bengal reported a drop in total active Covid-19 cases for the 66th consecutive day (since Vijaya Dashami on October 26), as it fell from 37,190 to 11,985. The recovery rate is 96.07, surpassing the national rate of 96.05 per cent. The state also logged 1,537 recoveries, 1,170 new infections, and 29 deaths, including five from Calcutta, on Thursday.