The new SOPs have been issued as new mutant variant of the coronavirus was detected and the Ministry of Health said that the virus is estimated by the European Center for Disease Control (ECDC) to be more transmissible and affecting younger population.
Photo: IANS
The Ministry of Health on Tuesday has issued new standard operating procedure (SOP) due to new strain of coronavirus detected which includes RT-PCR testing on arrival, separate isolation for those testing positive, institutional quarantine for co-passengers for those who tested positive for travellers arriving from the United Kingdom.
The new SOPs have been issued as new mutant variant of the coronavirus was detected and the Ministry of Health said that the virus is estimated by the European Center for Disease Control (ECDC) to be more transmissible and affecting younger population.
The ministry in the statement said, “This variant is defined by a set of 17 changes or mutations. One of the most significant…changes…may result in the virus becoming more infectious and spreading more easily between people.”
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The government in this new SOP has included all international passengers who have travelled from or transited through UK in the last four weeks.
These travellers are required to declare their travel history of the past 14 days and have to fill a self declaration form. They will have to take a RT-PCR test on arrival and if tested positive it is recommended that spike gene-based RT-PCR test also be performed on them.
If the traveller is tested positive for the older variant of Covid-19 the ongoing treatment protocol may be followed, including home isolation or institutional treatment, based on the severity of the case.
However, if the new variant is detected then the patient will remain in separate isolation unit and treatment protocol will be followed. A test shall be conducted on the 14 day and if tested positive further samples will be taken till two consecutive samples taken 24 hours apart test negative.
Airlines have been asked to ensure that the passengers are informed about the new SOPs before check-in.
The government has asked for a state-wise passenger list of the flight from UK in the past four weeks to be provided by the immigration bureau to the state government and Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme so that data can be given to surveillance teams.
India on Tuesday recorded 19,556 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, the lowest since July, according to Ministry of Health.
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