CHENNAI: Concerns have been raised by Tamil Nadu Health Department after a man, who arrived from Britain via transit from Delhi, tested positive for the coronavirus on Tuesday in Chennai.
This comes amid fears about a new COVID-19 variant spreading fast in Britain which, as per reports, is 'highly contagious'.
Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan, who inspected the Chennai airport on Tuesday morning, said that the passenger's samples were sent to National Institue of Virology, Pune, for genomic analysis to see if the man is infected with the new strain.
Speaking to the media, the state Health Secretary also said that all passengers who came to Tamil Nadu from UK in the last ten days are being traced. The tracing is being done as per e-pass list.
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The COVID positive passenger has been admitted to Covid ward in The King Institute, Guindy. Doctors said that the patient is asymptomatic and is being monitored.
The case came to light after the state health department tested all passengers who landed in Chennai via Delhi on Monday night.
The Health Secretary also said that the people need not panic about reports of new strain and the government is taking all steps to prevent it.
The state is also checking passengers landing in other airports within its jurisdiction. Elaborate arrangements for conducting RT-PCR tests are being made at the airport.
The Centre temporarily banned all flights from UK coming to India after the emergence of a new strain of the coronavirus.