New COVID-19 strain: Adityanath asks authorities to remain vigilant

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday directed authorities to maintain extra vigil especially at airports amid concerns over a new strain of coronavirus spreading in the UK.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday directed authorities to maintain extra vigil especially at airports amid concerns over a new strain of coronavirus spreading in the UK. Adityanath held a high level meeting with senior officials and directed that arrangements be made for proper treatment of COVID-19 patients, an official release issued here said.

The Central government on Monday had directed testing of all passengers coming from the UK on arrival at Indian airports. It had issued a stringent set of SOPs mandating RT-PCR tests at airports for each traveller from the country and isolation in a separate unit of an institutional facility for positive cases. India suspended all passenger flights connecting the UK from Wednesday till December 31 or till further orders.

Adityanath also said that there was a need to upgrade laboratories and develop necessary expertise to deal with the new strain of the virus.