India becomes latest country to identify mutant strain of coronavirus from UK

India has recorded six cases of the new UK variant of coronavirus from people who returned from Britain in recent weeks.

Officials said all six patients have been kept in isolation while their fellow travellers were being tracked down.

The country’s health ministry said: "Their close contacts have also been put under quarantine.”

India has suspended all flights from Britain until the end of the month.

But about 33,000 passengers had flown in from late November before the ban, the ministry said.

Of those arrivals, 114 people were found positive for Covid-19, the Telegraph reports.

Their samples are being cheked for the new variant, which has also been detected across parts of Europe and Asia since being identified in the UK.

It comes a day after authorities in South Korea confirmed three cases of the UK variant had been found.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said the three individuals are members of a London-based family who arrived in the country on December 22.

They have since been placed in isolation.

The new strain of the virus, which is feared to be more contagious, emerged earlier this month in the UK.

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It prompted more than 50 countries to impose travel restrictions on Britain.

With 10.22million confirmed infections, India has the second-highest case load in the world, behind only the US.

But on Tuesday it reported 16,432 new cases, the lowest daily rise since June 25, according to the health ministry.

More than 148,150 people have died of the virus in India, according to official figures.

Health authorities expect to start a vaccination drive for some 300million people early next month.

The Serum Institute of India, which is making the Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus shot, is expecting its emergency approval within days.

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