India to hold all UK arrivals over new COVID-19 strain

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Indian authorities have launched an operation to track down people who entered the country from Britain in recent weeks as cases of a new and fast-spreading coronavirus strain more than doubled in 24 hours.

The efforts aim at locating 33,000 people who flew to India in the last month from the UK. This is after 20 people tested positive for the new strain, up by 14 cases since Tuesday.

India also extended the ban on flights to and from Britain by a week to January 7.

“Comprehensive contact tracing has been initiated for co-travellers, family contacts and others,” the Indian health ministry said Tuesday, referring to those who flew between November 25 and December 23, when Delhi suspended air links with Britain.

The variant that was first reported in the England, has since spread to over 20 countries.