As many as 102 people in India have tested positive for the new coronavirus strain found in the United Kingdom, according to the Union Health Ministry.
The number of people affected by the strain stood at 96 on January 11.
On Wednesday, the ministry said, "The total number of persons found to be positive with the new UK variant genome stands at 102 today."
All these people were kept in single-room isolation in designated healthcare facilities by respective state governments. Their close contacts have also been put in quarantine and comprehensive contact tracing has been initiated for co-travellers, family contacts and others.
Genome sequencing on other specimens is going on, the ministry said, adding the situation is under careful watch and regular advice is being provided to the states for enhanced surveillance, containment, testing and dispatch of samples to INSACOG (Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium) labs, the ministry said.
Presence of the new UK variant has already been reported by several countries including Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia, Italy, Sweden, France, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Canada, Japan, Lebanon and Singapore.
According to reports, the mutant variant of the virus found in the UK is said to be 70 per cent more infectious than the old Covid-19 strain.
With PTI inputs
