279 UK returnees in T’gana untraceable

At least 279 passengers recently returned from the UK to Telangana are untraceable, according to state health officials, while 52 new cases were recorded on Saturday, taking the number of newly caught infections in passengers back from Britain to 120 nationwide since last Sunday.

It is likely to be known whether the passengers are carrying the more transmissible variant currently ravaging the UK by Monday once lab reports of samples come.

Samples taken from all the virus-positive passengers have been sent to labs for sequencing and by Monday it is likely to be known whether they are carrying the more transmissible variant currently ravaging the UK.

There were three new cases in Telangana, taking the state’s UK infected number to 21. Goa reported 16 cases among passengers from the UK, while there were 14 new cases from Maharashtra (total 17). One more passenger tested positive in Nashik, but it was unclear if he had contracted the novel coronavirus in the UK because he had tested negative at Mumbai airport on returning on December 13.

Kerala reported three new infected passengers, taking the total to eight, and Uttar Pradesh saw eight UK returnees test positive. One passenger from Mysuru in Karnataka was found to have the virus, while Andhra Pradesh reported six virus-positive cases.

Telangana officials said 92 of the untraceable returnees are from the neighbouring states of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Karnataka, and 184 had given wrong phone numbers and addresses. “We have forwarded their details to their respective state governments so that they can help trace these returnees. A search is on to find the rest,” said Dr G Srinivasa Rao, Telangana’s director for public health.

“People with the new type of virus need not worry. They only need be vigilant, use the mask properly, follow physical distancing and wash their hands regularly,” Dr Rao said.

Of the 14 new cases in Maharashtra, three are from Mumbai, four from Thane, one from Nagpur, two from Pune and one each from Nanded, Ahmednagar, Raigad and Aurangabad.

UP additional chief secretary (health and family welfare) Amit Mohan Prasad said the Central government had provided a list of 1,655 people who had returned from or via the UK to the state. “Of these, 1,087 have been tracked, while 609 have been tested and eight were found to be positive,” Prasad said on Saturday.