After Meerut, second case of new Covid-19 strain found in Noida

A 33-year-old woman on Tuesday became the first person in Noida to be found infected with the new strain of the Covid-19 virus.

A 33-year-old woman on Tuesday became the first person in Noida to be found infected with the new strain of the Covid-19 virus.

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She had returned from the UK, where the strain was first detected, on December 18 and is a resident of sector 50. After she was detected with the new strain, she was quickly transferred to an isolation centre where she reported a fever, but her condition was stable.

She is the second person in the state to be found with the new strain. A day earlier, a two-year-old girl was found to be infected with it.

Gautam Buddh Nagar district magistrate (DM) Suhas LY said that she is among the two UK returnees who tested Covid-19 positive.

“In the district, 189 people who had returned after December 8 had been tested with the RT-PCR method. The other one to test positive was a 28-year woman from Greater Noida and she also has been admitted to the isolation ward of the Government Institute of Medical sciences (GIMS) in Greater Noida. However, she doesn’t have the new strain,” he said.

The DM said that health officials had traced three primary contacts of the 33-year-old woman and their samples tested negative for the virus. “We’ve also traced 28 other people, identified as secondary contacts. Their test reports are awaited. Till then, all of them have been asked to be on home quarantine,” Suhas said.

He also said that there is no need to panic. “We should must adhere to all the Covid-19 safety protocols like facemasking in public, maintain social distancing and use sanitizers,” he said.

The Chief medical officer (CMO) Dr Deepak Ohri said that altogether 260 persons have returned from UK after December 8. “While 43 of them have gone on holidays, the other 28 are living in other states despite having addresses of Gautam Budh Nagar district in their passports. We have cross-notified to all the districts concerned, where they are living presently,” he said.

The new variant, referred to as SARS-CoV-2 VUI 202012/01 (Variant Under Investigation, year 2020, month 12, variant 01), was detected in that country earlier this month and was reported to be more transmissible. The Indian government suspended flights from the UK from December 23. Several people who had travelled from that country over the last few days too had tested positive although it was not immediately known whether they had the new variant of the virus.

The state government had issued guidelines that said that all such persons who arrived from the UK since November 28 to December 8 will be kept under surveillance for 28 days and tested with the more accurate RT-PCR method if they develop symptoms. Those who arrived after December 8 will have to mandatorily undergo the test. Both groups of people will have the option to be isolated at home till they receive their test report.

The SOP requires those who have returned from UK on or after December 9 to be mandatorily tested. If found positive, their isolation will be continued and the sample will be sent to National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune to sequence the viral genome to figure out whether it is the new variant. If confirmed to be the new variant, the patient will be shifted to a separate ward at the districts’ Covid centre. Those found positive with the older variant will have the option of following home quarantine.