ONGOLE: Four persons, who returned to Ongole from Chennai recently, had tested positive for the UK strain of coronavirus. As they returned from Chennai, their samples were sent to the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) in Hyderabad for analysis and they came positive for the UK strain on Thursday. The quartet have recovered from COVID.
Ongole Government General Hospital (GGH-RIMS) Medical Superintendent Dr D Sree Ramulu said the UK strain was found in Prakasam district for the first time. "We will collect the samples of the four persons again and they will be sent to the CCMB for further analysis," Dr Sree Ramulu told The New Indian Express on Friday.
The first case of the UK variant was reported in Rajamahendravaram of East Godavari district in December when a woman who returned from the United Kingdom, tested positive. Meanwhile, the daily COVID count in the district is on the rise.
The district recorded 27 new COVID cases on Friday, taking the total to 62,381. It has an active caseload of 174. Of them, 79 are being treated in Ongole GGH, while the remaining patients are in home quarantine.