Karnataka govt conducts COVID-19 tests on 138 people who flew in from UK recently

Health

The results of the COVID-19 tests are awaited.

TNM Staff

Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar on Wednesday said that 138 people who arrived in the state from the United Kingdom on December 20 and 21 were traced and tested for the coronavirus. "All 138 people were traced and their samples were taken for testing," Sudhakar told reporters in Bengaluru on Wednesday. The results of the COVID-19 tests are awaited.The Karnataka government said that 138 passengers from the UK arrived in the state without a negative COVID-19 test result.  A new strain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus was reported in the United Kingdom earlier this month prompting the state government to announce additional measures. State health department officials said they will keep tabs on those who returned from UK between November 25 and December 22 and ensure that these travellers will undergo quarantine and an RTPCR test will be conducted if they are found to be symptomatic, the minister said. "In the wake of the emergence of a new variant of coronavirus in the UK, I held a meeting with the Technical Advisory Committee of the Health and Family Welfare Department. Initial studies in the UK suggest that the virus may be more contagious than the present one but not more virulent," Sudhakar said in a tweet. The Indian government has halted all flights between India and the UK. The state government announced that a 7-day home quarantine rule will be in place for travellers from the UK, Denmark and Netherlands. The state government has also set up COVID-19 testing kiosks at the Bengaluru International Airport  The Karnataka government also announced a night curfew starting tonight (December 23) till January 2. It will be effective from 10 pm to 6 am and will likely mean Christmas and New Year celebrations in the state will be curtailed. The guidelines specifying the exact rules of the curfew will be released later on Wednesday, Health Minister Sudhakar said. Karnataka registered 1,141 new COVID-19 cases in a day, while 1,136 were discharged on recovery on Tuesday. The state's COVID-19 tally rose to 9.11 lakh, including 13,393 active cases, while recoveries increased to 8.85 lakh with 1,136 discharged in the last 24 hours.  

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