14 more UK returnees test positive for new strain of coronavirus; total 20

Twenty people who returned to India from the United Kingdom have tested positive for the new UK Variant genome of SARS- Cov- 2 so far,the Union Health Minister said on Wednesday.The tally includes six people who were found positive fro the new virus strain on tuesday. All these people have been kept in single room isolation at designated health care facilities by respective state governments and their close contacts have also been put under quarantine. The presence of the new UK Variant has already been reported by Denmark,Netherlands,Australia, Italy,Sweden,France,Spain,Switzerland, Germany,Canada,Japan, Lebanon and Singapore. Also a meeting of the National Task Force (NTF)o n covid 19 was held on Dec 26 to consider and recommend testing,treatment,surveillance and containment strategy.