Compulsory COVID testing for all entrants to Nagaland after Dec 20

December 29, 2020 51 Views No Comment

DIMAPUR, DECEMBER 28 (MExN): The Nagaland Government has directed people who have entered Nagaland after December 20 to report to the District Task Forces (DTF) for COVID-19 testing.

This was stated in a press release from the Directorate of Health and Family Welfare in view of the emergence of a new variant strain of COVID-19 from United Kingdom.

”All persons who have come to Nagaland, either Indian or Foreign Nationals, after the 20th December are to report to the Respective District Task Force (DTF) on Covid-19 for compulsory testing,” the press release from Nagaland Principal Director, Directorate of Health and Family Welfare stated.

It further informed that those arriving after the issue of this circular should self declare at the point of entry, inform the DTF and self isolate for necessary standard testing protocols.

The new mutation is being called VUI-202012/01 — the first “Variant Under Investigation” in the United Kingdom in December 2020. While scientists hunt for more information about the variant, its impact is already being felt, with dozens of countries imposing restrictions on travelers from the UK.

The new variant is believed to have originated in southeast England, according to the WHO. Public Health England (PHE) says backwards tracing, using genetic evidence, suggests the variant first emerged in England in September. It then circulated in very low levels until mid-November.

Centre charts out plan to detect mutant Covid-19

Meanwhile, the Union Health Ministry on Monday issued a detailed action plan which the genomic surveillance consortium would follow if the new coronavirus variant is detected in the samples of returnees from the UK.

The British Government had recently announced that the newly identified strain of the virus found in their population is up to 70 per cent more transmissible. This had prompted Indian authorities to suspend flights to and from the UK till December 31.

Genome sequencing of those who tested positive after coming to India from the UK is underway to see if they are carrying the mutant strain. The Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) has been formed to expand whole genome sequencing across the nation.

According to consortium’s action plan, in case the UK variant or any other variant mutation is detected in any sample, the virus will be sent to any of the two notified COVID Virus Repositories at RCB- Faridabad or NIV, Pune for isolating the virus and further culturing.

“This can then be shared as per notified guidelines for development of assays, which will help in validation of diagnostics and also testing of the vaccines under development. The molecular surveillance will be closely linked with the epidemiological surveillance and clinical specimens will also be collected for relevant clinical correlations,” the INSACOG said.

Ten regional genome sequencing labs are – CSIR Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology in Delhi, CSIR Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology in Hyderabad, DBT National Institute of Biomedical Genomics near Kolkata, DBT- Institute of Life Sciences in Bhubaneswar, DBT InSTEM/NCBS in Bengaluru, DBT-Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics in Hyderabad.

It also includes National Institute of Virology and DBT National Centre for Cell Science in Pune, National Centre for Disease Control in Delhi and NIMHANS, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences in Bangalore.

According to the experts, India needs to increase viral Genomic surveillance in order to understand the spread of the virus in a rapid and robust manner. In that context, the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium will help to expand whole genome sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 virus across the nation, aiding understanding of how the virus spreads and evolves.

Preliminary analysis in the UK suggests that this variant is significantly more transmissible than previously circulating variants. However, there is no experimental evidence at this point of increased infection severity associated with the aforementioned new variant.

Source: https://morungexpress.com/compulsory-covid-testing-for-all-entrants-to-nagaland-after-dec-20