ADVERTISEMENT

Four Detected With South Africa Variant Of SARS-CoV-2 In India, One With Brazil Strain

All travellers and their contacts have been tested and quarantined.

A healthcare worker dressed in personal protective equipment collects a swab sample for Covid-19 rapid antigen test in New Delhi. (Photographer: T. Narayan/Bloomberg)
A healthcare worker dressed in personal protective equipment collects a swab sample for Covid-19 rapid antigen test in New Delhi. (Photographer: T. Narayan/Bloomberg)

Four people were detected with the South Africa variant of SARS-CoV-2 in India in January, while one tested positive for the Brazil variant strain in the first week of February, the Centre said on Tuesday.

In India, the South Africa strain has been detected in four returnees -- one from Angola, one from Tanzania and two from South Africa in January, Indian Council of Medical Research Director General Balram Bhargava said.

Opinion
What We Know About the Impact of Covid-19 on Children

All travellers and contacts have been tested and quarantined.

"The ICMR-NIV is attempting to isolate and culture the SA variant strain from the samples of these four individual returnees," he said.

One Brazil returnee has tested positive for the Brazil variant of SARS-CoV-2 in the first week of February. The traveller and contacts have been tested and quarantined.