3 more who returned to Kolkata from UK test Covid-19 positive

At least three more people, who returned to Kolkata from London on December 20, have been detected with Covid-19, prompting authorities to send their samples for genome sequencing to ascertain whether they were infected with the new and more contagious strain of the disease found in the UK.

“All three have been kept in isolation in a state-run hospital in Kolkata,” said a health department official.

Earlier two people, who had returned on the same December 20 flight, were detected with Covid-19. One of them was later found to be carrying the new strain.

The five were among the 222 passengers, who arrived in Kolkata from London on December 20. That was the last flight to have arrived from London before the government suspended all flights from the UK from December 23.

A dry run for Covid-19 vaccination was separately scheduled to be launched in West Bengal on Saturday. Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, and Gujarat earlier conducted dry runs.

“Three areas in North 24 Parganas district – Amdanga, Duttabad, and Madhyamgram -- have been selected for the dry run in West Bengal,” said a second official.

Out of the 5,53,000 Covid-19 cases in West Bengal, at least 11,60,00 cases have been registered in North 24 Parganas followed by 12,30,00 in Kolkata.