Delhi's tally of COVID patients infected with UK variant reaches 9
The total number of patients with the new coronavirus strain has touched nine in Delhi, as one more patient at a Delhi government-run hospital has been found infected with the UK strain of novel coronavirus. According to a statement by Dr Suresh Kumar, medical director of Lok Nayak Jai Prakash (LNJP) Hospital, one Covid patient admitted there has been detected carrying the UK strain with the lab test confirming it on Tuesday. All such patients are admitted at the LNJP. Besides, 41 contacts of these patents detected carrying the UK strain are admitted to the hospital. The latest count is a UK returnee who travelled the country recently, Kumar said.
"The total number of patients suspected of being infected by the UK strain has reached 49. Of them, the strain is confirmed in nine persons," he said.
Kumar also informed that of the total 49, 17 are travellers while the remaining are their contacts. "Fifteen are those who came directly from Dubai while two others transited via Dubai to India," he said.
He also said that the health of all the patients infected from the UK strain of novel coronavirus is stable. "Health of all 49 of them is stable. Just one of them exhibited mild symptoms of the Covid-19 disease, while the rest are asymptomatic. None of them have shown severe complications so far," he added.
He also informed that each of the Covid patients, suspected of carrying the UK mutation, including the confirmed nine patients, are lodged in separate rooms of a special ward. The ward has been earmarked for those who landed here from the UK. With a capacity of 60 rooms, the ward is spread across three floors with 20 rooms on each floor.
"We are ensuring that these patients don't mingle with the other Covid patients. All of them have been isolated separately in different rooms of a special ward designated for the patients suspected or found infected with the new variant," Kumar said.
Meanwhile, India reported nine more Covid patients have been detected carrying the new and highly infectious strain of novel coronavirus from the UK on Monday, taking the tally of cases to 38 in the country.
(With IANS inputs)
