First case of infection of UK-strain of coronavirus found in MP

In the first such case in MadhyaPradesh, a 39-year-old man who returned to Indore from the UKlast month has tested positive for the new coronavirusstrain, senior officials said on Friday.

The patient, who is asymptomatic, has been placed inhome isolation, district collector Manish Singh said.

It was the first case of infection of the UK variantof the virus in the state, said Dr Veena Sinha, additionaldirector, MP Health Department.

After returning from the UK, the man had come incontact with 39 persons, 34 of them from outside Indoredistrict, a local health official said.

These 34 persons were contacted and informed about hisstatus. The remaining five, including two of the patient'sfamily members, are from Indore and have undergone COVID-19tests and are in good health, the official added.

The man returned from the UK on December 23 and testedpositive for coronavirus.

His samples were then sent to the National Centre forDisease Control (NCDC), Delhi and its report confirmed that hewas carrying the new variant of the virus, the official said.

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