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New Delhi: Amidst reports of a mutant coronavirus strain being found in the United Kingdom, the Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has called for a meeting today of its joint monitoring group on COVID-19 for a discussion, according to government sources.
Ever since news broke that the new coronavirus strain is rapidly in the UK several countries across the world have banned flights to and from the nation. India, however, has not yet taken any policy decision on a flight ban from the UK, but according to a report by NDTV, the matter will be given serious consideration.
On December 19, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that the newly identified strain of the virus may be up to 70 per cent more transmissible. His Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the new variant was “out of control”.
The WHO tweeted late on Saturday that it was “in close contact with UK officials on the new COVID-19 virus variant and promised to update governments and the public as more is learned”.
The Joint Monitoring Group will be chaired by the Director General of Health Services. Experts from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), and World Health Organisation’s India representative Roderico H Ofrin, who is also a member of the group, may attend the meeting.
So far, Saudi Arabia, Canada, and several European nations, including Italy, Belgium, France and the Netherlands banned flights to and fro from the the UK after report of the mutant strain came to the fore.
Scientists across the world are worried about the mutation of the novel coronavirus as drug firms are still in the early stages of rolling out vaccines to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
The new variant was first discovered by scientists in a patient in September. An alarm was raised on Friday by Public Health England, a government agency, when modelling revealed the serious nature of the mutant strain.
(With inputs from AFP, IANS)
