A West Bengal youth is among the 14 UK returnees who have been tested positive for the new mutant COVID-19 strain. The total number of the novel coronavirus cases with the new variant has reached to 20 in India.

Reportedly, the Bengal youth, who had tested positive for COVID-19 last week, had come in contact with a total of 590 individuals since his arrival in Kolkata. They have been put under surveillance.

The Union Health Ministry on late Tuesday night informed the West Bengal government about the latest development.

Meanwhile, the state health department had kept him at an isolation ward in the Kolkata Medical College Hospital, even though he developed no symptoms whatsoever.

The flight from UK, which carried the youth, had a total of 326 passengers, all of whom were subjected to rapid tests upon their arrival. They were also kepth under strict surveillance by the West Bengal health department.

Six among the UK returnees reported about milld fever and cough. Following their RT-PCR test, two samples tested positive for the COVID-19. However, one of them turned negative in a subsequent test, while the youth remained positive.

The new mutant COVID-19 strain was detected after his sample underwent genome sequencing at the National Institute of Biomedical Genomics (NIBMG) in Kalyani, West Bengal.

The new SARS-CoV-2 variant, reportedly 70% more infectious, was first found in UK in mid-December. It was cited as the reason behind the surge in COVID-19 cases in the country’s southern and eastern parts.

The variant, which is believed to have resulted from multiple mutations in the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2, has been referred to as VUI (Variant Under Investigation) 202012/01, or the B.1.1.7 lineage.

Meanwhile, the Aviation Ministry, on Wednesday, announced that it has extended the suspension of flights to and from the UK till January 7 amidst the rising number of new COVID-19 variants in among Indians.

The samples of the new strain of Covid-19 are currently being tested at the labs of INSACOG in India.

The government plans to carry out the genome sequencing at 10 laboratories across the country eventually. The labs include NIBMG Kolkata, ILS Bhubaneswar, NIV Pune, CCS Pune, CCMB Hyderabad, CDFD Hyderabad, InSTEM Bengaluru, NIMHANS Bengaluru, IGIB Delhi, and NCDC Delhi.