Samples of seven U.K. returnees positive for new coronavirus variant in Bengaluru

Highly placed sources from the Union Health Ministry told The Hindu that four more samples from Bengaluru, in addition to the three announced, had tested positive for the new variant.

December 29, 2020 10:51 am | Updated 11:02 am IST - Bengaluru

Samples being collected for testing in Bengaluru.

Samples being collected for testing in Bengaluru.

Samples of seven U.K. returnees were found positive for the new variant of coronavirus in Bengaluru.

While a release from PIB confirmed that three persons, including a 34-year-old woman and her six-year-old daughter, who returned to Bengaluru from the U.K. on December 19, were found positive through genome sequencing of their samples at Nimhans, highly placed sources from the Union Health Ministry told The Hindu that four more samples from Bengaluru had tested positive for the new variant.

An announcement about the other four positive cases is likely to be made by the Ministry later in the day.

“Of the total 23 samples sent to Nimhans for genome sequencing, seven samples of those who returned to Bengaluru have tested positive for the new variant,” sources said.

Meanwhile, Karnataka Health and Medical Education Minister K. Sudhakar tweeted that the State had initiated precautionary measures to ensure that the new variant does not spread.

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