Passenger from UK tests Covid-19 positive in Chennai, sample sent to NIV

Chennai, December 22, 2020

A passenger who arrived here from London has tested positive for Covid-19, health department officials said on Tuesday, adding that the test sample has been sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune to check whether it is the new mutant variant of the virus.

The passenger has been transferred to the King's Institute Hospital here and is currently under quarantine.

No other details about the infected person were immediately available.

On Monday, India suspended all flights to and from the UK from midnight tonight until December 31 as a precautionary measure following the discovery of the fast-spreading new Covid-19 variant in Britain.

IANS