West Bengal reports first case of new coronavirus strain

Kolkata : West Bengal on Wednesday reported its first case of new coronavirus strain that was first detected in the United Kingdom, said senior health official.

The patient, son of a senior official of the state Health Department, tested positive for the Variant of Concern 202012/01 (VOC-202012/01) mutant coronavirus strain after returning from London 10 days ago, the official said.

"The youth is undergoing treatment at the Calcutta Medical College and Hospital's super-specialty section. He is under observation. We have advised all those who have come in contact with him to isolate themselves," the official told PTI.

The man was found positive to coronavirus on the day of his return at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata.

"As he had returned from the UK, we had sent his samples to Kalyani's National Institute of Biomedical Genomics for genetic analysis as per the protocol set by the Centre.

"The new strain of the coronavirus was detected during his genetic analysis. We had sent the report to Delhi-based National Centre for Disease Control, which has asked us to put him under strict isolation," the official said.

Six others who had come in his contact have also been tested for the new version of coronavirus but they have tested negative.

The youth, however, was not having "serious health issues" and was "quite okay" at the moment, the official said.

Meanwhile, the authority is gathering the list of passengers on the flight he travelled in. "We are trying to locate them and find out about their health conditions, depending on which we will decide whether to conduct any medical examination. We will ask them to stay under home isolation," he said.

India has officially reported 20 such cases of new coronavirus mutant till date. The Civil Aviation Ministry has also extended a ban on international flights till January 7.