First case of UK COVID-19 strain reported in Uttarakhand: Read details
The man's relatives have all tested negative for the new strain, but they are COVID-19 positive, said District Nodal Officer for COVID Rajeev Dikshit. He added that the man, in his forties, has never been to Britain.
A man in Dehradun has tested positive for the new strain of the coronavirus which was detected in the UK late last year and has a high transmissibility. This is the first such case in Uttarakhand, according to a health official on Friday.
The man had come in contact with five of his relatives who had recently returned to Dehradun from the UK, District Nodal Officer for COVID Rajeev Dikshit said, reported PTI. Strangely, his relatives have all tested negative for the new strain, but they are COVID-19 positive, he said, adding that the man, in his forties, has never been to Britain.
Their primary and secondary contacts are being traced and their samples are being taken, Dikshit said.
In total seven samples were sent for genome sequencing to the National Centre for Disease Control in Delhi and only the man's sample has tested positive for the new strain of the coronavirus. The result came on Thursday, he said, according to PTI.
The samples of the man's five relatives tested negative for the new strain and the result of the seventh sample, which was taken from one of their contacts, is awaited, Dikshit said.
The man has been kept in isolation at a COVID care centre in the city. He will remain there for at least 28 days, Dikshit said.
Presence of the new UK variant has already been reported by several countries including France, Canada, Australia, Denmark, the Netherlands, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Japan, Lebanon and Singapore.
