New Covid strain: Uttarakhand starts tracing UK returnees

The samples have been sent to Pune’s National Institute of Virology and their results were expected this week

Published on: Dec 29, 2020, 16:51:40 IST

Hindustan Times, Dehradun | By Neeraj Santoshi

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Uttarakhand has started tracing 227 people, who have over the last month arrived in the state from the UK amid concerns about the new and more contagious Covid-19 strain found there.

District surveillance teams are working on contact tracing, isolating, and taking samples of the individuals who have returned from the UK. (ANI)

Abhishek Tripathi, the state’s officer-in-charge of Covid-19, said the returnees from the UK are being isolated as per the protocols. “We have so far sent for testing samples of seven--six returnees and one contact--who have tested positive for Covid-19 and are waiting for the results. A procedure is being followed for the genome testing...”

The samples have been sent to Pune’s National Institute of Virology and their results were expected this week.

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Tripathi said district surveillance teams are working on contact tracing, isolating, and taking samples of the individuals who have returned from the UK. “Our treatment protocol for cases of the new strain, if any, has been decided and orders from the state health secretary have also been issued to all districts.”

Dr Pankaj Singh, who is involved in monitoring the records of UK returnees, said the 227 were tested at the airports after returning from the UK. “The state government, as a precautionary measure, is testing all of them once again. We have also isolated these returnees and are keeping a tab on their health condition.”

Uttarakhand has so far reported over 89,000 Covid-19 cases since March. As many as 81,000 of them have recovered.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Neeraj Santoshi
Neeraj Santoshi is the Chief of Bureau for Hindustan Times in Uttarakhand, where he leads the state reporting team while covering government, politics, environment, wildlife, Uttarakhand High Court, and issues shaping the Himalayan region. With more than two decades in journalism across conflict zones, he has covered politically sensitive regions and environmentally fragile landscapes, and focused on stories that combine public interest with in-depth storytelling. An alumnus of Pune University with a Master’s in Communication Studies, he has reported extensively from Jammu & Kashmir (2003-2010), Madhya Pradesh (2010 to 2018 ) and Uttarakhand (Since 2018), covering subjects ranging from insurgency, elections and governance to wildlife conservation, mining, climate change, agriculture, human rights and social justice. He has covered politics and legislative assemblies of both Jammu & Kashmir and Madhya Pradesh over more than a decade. Before taking over as Chief of Bureau in Uttarakhand, he served as Special Correspondent with Hindustan Times in Madhya Pradesh and earlier reported for both Hindustan Times and The Indian Express in Jammu & Kashmir, where he covered state politics, environment and insurgency-related developments. Over the years, his stories have focused on environmental degradation, wildlife, illegal mining, governance and the changing social fabric of Himalayan states and Central India. He is particularly interested in long-form explanatory journalism, and stories that explore the intersection of ecology, conservation, governance and society. Outside the newsroom, Neeraj enjoys reading widely on neuroscience, consciousness studies, Artificial Intelligence and quantum physics, with a special interest in Kashmiri Tantric Shaivist traditions. He is also passionate about wildlife, mountaineering and the Himalayas, interests that continue to inform his reporting and deepen his understanding of the region he covers.Read More

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