38 persons infected in India with new strain of UK variant of coronavirus

Jan. 4: As of now, a total of 38 persons were infected with the new UK variant of coronavirus strain in India. This was informed by the Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare on Monday. Out of the 38 such cases, 10 were detected at a lab in Bengaluru, 19 in Delhi labs, 5 in a Pune lab, 3 in Hyderabad and one in Kolkata. The samples are being tested for genome sequencing. The mutant strain VUI-202012/01 (the first Variant Under Investigation in December 2020) is defined by a set of 17 changes or mutations.

In order to detect the presence of the new strain of coronavirus, genome sequencing tests are being done. Chief of India’s Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) informed that 24 hours time is needed to trace the mutant strain of the new coronavirus. Infact, six labs across India are set to conduct the genome sequencing tests to find out the presence of the new mutant strain of the coronavirus.