Mutant strain: Over 800 tourists from UK land in Rajasthan in a week

Vacant beds at CWG village COVID-19 Care Centre in Delhi. Only eleven patients are left for treatment at the centre. Pic/PTI

The new Coronavirus strain in the UK is keeping the Rajasthan government on edge as over 800 British tourists have entered the 28 districts of the state in the last one week. Tracking them will be a nightmare, health authorities said.

A bulk of these British (333) visitors have arrived in Jaipur, which is followed by Jodhpur (73), Ajmer (70), Alwar (48), Udaipur (43), Kota (39), Jhunjhunu (24), Ganganagar (38), Rajsamand (35) and many more, said health officials.

Rajasthan has been victim of tourists spreading the virus. The first COVID-19 case in Rajasthan was an Italian tourist, who had come on a tour to India when his country was in the throes of the pandemic. This first case was reported on March 2, when a 69-year-old Italian tourist, who was part of a group of 23 tourists, tested positive for COVID-19.

"The screening and sampling work of these UK tourists have started. We are monitoring all those who have arrived from the UK. In three-four days, we shall be able to reach out to every single tourist from the UK who entered the Pink City," said Jaipur's Chief Medical Health Officer Narottam Sharma.

UK returnees in K'taka
Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar on Saturday said 14 people who have come to the state from the UK so far have tested positive for COVID-19 and their samples have been sent for genetic sequencing to find whether it is a new strain of virus that has infected them.

"A total of 2,500 people have come (from the UK), of them 1,638 have been tested. According to information I received last night, 14 of them have tested positive. All the 14 (samples) have been sent to NIMHANS for genetic sequencing," he said.

The Minister, however, said information regarding the genetic sequencing test reports as per the PMO's message will be sent to the Indian Council of Medical Research, which is likely to share the information with the public in a day or two.

Kerala impacted too
Eight people who recently returned from the UK to Kerala have tested positive for Coronavirus and their samples have been sent to the National Institute of Virology, Pune, for genomic analysis.
Health Minister KK Shailaja said on Saturday that samples of eight returnees were found positive for COVID-19 and their samples have been sent to NIV for further tests.

Following this development, it has been decided to subject the returnees to more tests, she added. Surveillance at the four international airports in the state have been further strengthened.

Oxford vaccine for India
While preparations are underway for a possible vaccine-rollout by January, the Indian drug regulator is looking at the UK, which sources believe may give its nod to the Oxford COVID-19 vaccine next week, before deciding on giving emergency use authorisation to the Serum Institute that is manufacturing the shots there.

Once the UK drug regulator gives its approval to the Oxford vaccine, the expert committee on COVID-19 at the CDSCO will hold its meeting and thoroughly review the safety and immunogenicity data from the clinical evaluations conducted abroad and in India before granting any emergency authorisation for the vaccine, official sources said.

The process of granting emergency use approval for Bharat Biotech's COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin may take time as its phase 3 trials are still underway, while Pfizer is yet to make a presentation. "Going by this, Oxford vaccine Covishield is likely to be the first to be rolled out in India," a source said.