Six UK returnees, 4 contacts test positive for Covid-19 in Andhra Pradesh

VISAKHAPATNAM: As many as 1,187 of the identified 1,216 UK returnees have been traced by the state health department as on Sunday evening with 29 yet to be traced. Of the 1,817 returnees, six have tested positive for coronavirus through RT-PCR tests. The health department has also traced 3,282 contacts of these returnees, all of whom were tested and samples of four returned positive for the virus.


The samples of the returnees and their contacts who have tested positive have been sent to the National Institute of Virology in Pune, and the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology in Hyderabad for genomic analysis) to determine if the disease has been caused by the new strain or the existing one.

The reports of these tests are yet to be received. Currently, 1,162 UK returnees are under quarantine. Among the six who tested positive, two cases are from Guntur districts and one case each from East Godavari, Krishna, Anantapur, and Nellore districts. Among the four contacts to test positive, three are from Guntur and one case from Nellore. All patients and their suspected (for infection) family members have been shifted to isolation wards.