An Andhra Pradesh-based woman who arrived on December 21 from the United Kingdom tested positive for the new UK coronavirus strain.
The woman Angelo Indian, who is in her 50s, had sparked headlines in India after reports emerged that she disappeared from the airport without informing anyone. On December 24, she deboarded the train in Andhra’s Rajahmundry.
She arrived in India from the United Kingdom at IGI, Delhi airport, on December 21.
Her Covid-19 test turned positive shortly after her arrival and before her result could come in, she left the airport and boarded the New Delhi-Visakhapatnam special train. She then switched off her mobile, apparently after she learned that police had contacted her family members.
Initially, she could not be traced as her phone was unreachable, sparking a panic. Officials then initiated a search and on the Vizag-bound train finally found her.
On December 24, the woman was forced to deboard the train at Rajahmundry. Both the mother and son are now in a quarantine center run by the government.
The medical health commissioner of Andhra Pradesh reported that the woman’s son has been found to be negative for the novel coronavirus and none of her contacts have tested positive so far.
“We have found that 1200 passengers have returned to Telangana from the UK since December 9 till now. We are collecting their details to conduct medical tests for everyone. We are inquiring about their health condition. None of those UK returnees have tested positive so far,” said Srinivasa Rao, Public Health Director.
Meanwhile, according to a press release from the Ministry of Health, all those who tested positive for the UK variant were kept in a single room in isolation by the respective state governments in the specified health care facilities.
The Union Ministry has also confirmed that the current national treatment protocol or testing protocols do not need to be modified. The National Task Force (NTF) has also proposed that enhanced genome surveillance is important, in addition to the current surveillance strategy.
