Chennai: Even as the people in India breathed a sigh of relief due to the reduction in the number of coronavirus cases in the last few days, the news of a new variant of the virus has shocked everyone.
Though India has banned flights to and from the UK, six passengers who reached India on Tuesday were tested coronavirus positive which has created panic among the citizens.
News Today brings you details about the new strain of virus.
What is this new strain of coronavirus?
The new variant, which UK scientists have named ‘VUI – 202012/01’ includes a genetic mutation in the ‘spike’ protein that the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus uses to infect human cells. According to scientists, these changes, in theory, can lead to a quicker spread of Covid-19 between people.
Has the virus spread in India?
Health Ministry officials that the government is on high alert about the new strain of coronavirus and urged people not to panic. Council for Scientific and Industrial Research Director General Shekhar Mande said, ‘We have not found this (particular mutation) in Indian isolates yet.’ Though six people who came from the UK were tested positive for Covid-19 in India so far (one of them belongs to Chennai), they are yet to be confirmed with the infection of the new strain.
When was the the new variant found?
The new strain was discovered by Public Health England’s genomic surveillance. The agency notified the UK government on 18 December on the seriousness of the new strain, and the UK submitted its findings to the World Health Organisation the same day. The new UK variant is believed to have first emerged in southeast England in September.
How can the virus be identified?
The new Covid-19 strain can be identified through current swab tests. The new variant contains 23 genetic changes, several due to alterations in a protein made by the virus. According to Prof. Nick Loman from the Covid-19 Genomics UK (COG-UK) Consortium, this is a ‘surprisingly large number of mutations’ and ‘more than we would expect’.
Will the present vaccines work against the new variant?
The possibility that the new variants will be resistant to existing vaccine candidates is low, but not ‘inexistent’, Dr Moncef Slaoui, chief science adviser for the US government’s vaccine distribution effort, said. Other researchers also say the mutations are not expected to be resistant to existing vaccine candidates, which will still protect against them.
Is the Virus getting transmitted at a faster rate?
New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (NERVTAG) has said that there is currently insufficient data to draw any conclusion on the underlying mechanism of increased transmissibility, the age distribution of cases and disease severity.
What is the Tamilnadu government up to?
Tamilnadu Health Secretary Dr J Radhakrishnan, who inspected the facilities at the Chennai airport following fresh spread of the mutant variant of Covid in London, said the passenger, who tested positive, was quarantined and admitted to the Government Corona hospital at King’s Institute, Guindy. He said the passenger’s throat and swab samples were sent to Pune laboratory to ascertain whether he was infected with the new mutant variant of the virus.
He said all the co-passengers, who arrived with him, were being identified and would be subjected to corona tests. He said all passengers, who had arrived in Tamilnadu from London via Trichy, Madurai, Coimbatore and Chennai airports during the last ten days were being identified to subject them to tests.
He said even if the passengers tested negative, they would be advised to be under quarantine.
Dr Radhakrishnan said, though the Centre has banned all flights from United Kingdom till the end of this year, those who arrived into the State from various states by road, especially from Bengaluru, were being identified.
Monitoring has been intensified and checkposts were erected in the borders to ensure that those entering the State were subjected to tests.
Stating that monitoring and testing has been increased at the airports and the government has put in place all measures to prevent spread of the virus and entry of SARs-CoV2 into the state, the Health Secretary said there was no need for the people to fear.
How many people in Tamilnadu are under scanner?
Health Minister Dr C Vijayabaskar said that 1,088 passengers, who had arrived from UK during the last ten days, were being identified and all of them would be subjected to tests. He also said their contacts would also be traced to ensure that there was no spread of the virus.
