India detects 20 cases of new coronavirus strain from UK

New Delhi : With 14 new cases of coronavirus strain (detected in UK) in India, the total number of cases has gone to 20, according to official data on ministry's website.

The samples that tested positive for the new strain were - 8 from NCDC, Delhi; 7 from NIMHANS, Bengaluru; 2 from CCMB, Hyderabad; 1 from NIBG Kalyani near Kolkata; 1 from NIV, Pune and 1 from IGIB, Delhi.

According to a statement issued by the health ministry, 10 laboratories have been setup to test the mutation of the virus via passengers returned from UK and also five percent of the samples taken for normal RT-PCR test.

Meanwhile, there are reports that the government may extend the temporary ban on flights from UK beyond December 31. Union minister Hardeep Puri said that authorities need to stay vigilant as new coronavirus cases in India are declining but a little mistake can turnover things.

At the same time, principal scientific advisor K. Vijay Raghavan, as well as other experts, maintained that so far it has not been found that the new variant increases the severity of the disease.