Delhi: Two more UK returnees test positive, shifted to special ward of Lok Nayak hospital

The Union government had suspended all flights from the UK on December 23 to prevent the spread of a new strain of Covid-19 that experts fear is more contagious.

Two more people who returned to Delhi from the United Kingdom (UK) between November 25 and December 21 have been found Covid-19 positive, senior government officials said on Saturday.

The threat from the new strain of Covid-19 comes at a time when Delhi seems to have brought the spread of the infection in control in the state. (PTI)

The Union government had suspended all flights from the UK on December 23 to prevent the spread of a new strain of Covid-19 that experts fear is more contagious.

As on Saturday, the senior official said, at least 21 patients were admitted in the special ward of Lok Nayak Hospital, which has been set up for the UK returnees and their contacts who test Covid-19 positive.

The 21 patients so far, include 11 who were identified from the last few flights from UK over Tuesday and Wednesday. Nine others were diagnosed as Covid-19 positive between Wednesday and Friday under a reach-out drive being conducted by the district administration. One other patient is the contact of one of the UK returnee patients, the senior government official said.

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“The test result of the last two patients arrived on Saturday, following which they were admitted in the special ward of Lok Nayak. More Covid-19 test results are awaited,” said the senior official, who did not wish to be identified.

While people arriving from the UK on December 22 and 23 — after the government’s announcement — were directly scanned, tested and quarantined (if needed) from the airports, state governments have been entrusted with reaching out and conducting Covid-19 tests of all passengers who arrived from the UK between November 25 and December 21, even if they had previously got themselves tested on arrival.

A senior official in the revenue department said around 14,000 passengers arrived at the Delhi airport between November 25 and December 21 – of which around 1,500 are Delhi residents. The rest are learnt to have left for other states, where the respective government teams are conducting similar tests.

The threat from the new strain of Covid-19 comes at a time when Delhi seems to have brought the spread of the infection in control in the state.

The state on Saturday recorded 655 new cases of Covid-19 on Saturday, which is the lowest in 215 days, since 412 cases were recorded in a day on May 26, data shared by the Delhi government showed. The administration conducted 67,115 tests conducted on Friday, of which 40,138 were done using RT PCR and other accurate molecular diagnostic methods.

Despite the higher number of RT PCR tests, Delhi’s positivity rate – proportion of samples that test positive among those tested – dropped to 0.98%. The city’s positivity rate has remained below 2% for 12 days now. Experts believe that the spread of an infection is under control if the positivity rate remains at 5% or less for over two weeks.

Meanwhile, district officials have initiated a reach out drive to trace all UK returnees and get them tested.

Once a UK returnee tests positives, all her /his contacts are to be tested. The contacts awaiting test results and those who test negative have to complete a mandatory institutional quarantine. They can either opt for a government facility in Chhatarpur or a paid facility in a hotel at Aerocity.

The Chhattarpur facility currently has around 80 individuals lodged. Most of them were people sitting in the neighbouring seats of the UK-Delhi flights from which the 11 Covid-patients were identified over Tuesday and Wednesday.