|
 The
South African variant was detected in four people last month and the
Brazilian one in one person this month, they said, adding that the
strains can more easily infect a person's lungs than the UK
mutation.
The Indian government is now considering mandating RT-PCR (reverse
transcription polymerase chain reaction) tests for all people coming
from Brazil and South Africa, as is being done for those flying in
from the United Kingdom. India has so far reported 187 cases of
infection with the UK variant.
"There are no direct flights from South Africa or Brazil, so the
health ministry and the civil aviation ministry are in touch on the
steps to be taken on the matter," Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan
told a news conference.
[to top of second column] |
India's COVID-19 cases rose by 9,121 in the past 24 hours, taking
the total to 10.93 million, second only to the tally of the United
States. Deaths rose by 81 to 155,813.
(Reporting by Sachin Ravikumar in Bengaluru and Neha Arora in New
Delhi; Editing by Nick Macfie)
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