COVID-19 Positive Woman Who Escaped From Delhi, Took Train To Andhra Had UK Strain Of The Virus

An Anglo-Indian woman who created a major panic and COVID-19 scare after she 'escaped' from an isolation facility in Delhi and took a train to her hometown in Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh was carrying the new, UK strain of the virus, lab tests have found.

The woman, identified as Mary Winfred Ann Parrie had landed in Delhi on December 21, where she was tested for COVID-19 and was found to be positive.

AP

As per protocol the woman who was asymptomatic was sent to Safdarjung Hospital where she was to be quarantined.

But the woman who was accompanied by her 22-year-old son managed to flee from the hospital and took a train to her home town.

After being alerted by the officials in Delhi, the woman and her son were traced by local authorities in Rajahmundry.

BCCL

She was then shifted to a hospital and her sample was sent to the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology in Hyderabad for genome sequencing.

On Tuesday, state Health Commissioner Katamaneni Bhaskar confirmed that the 47-year-old woman was in fact carrying the mutant strain of the virus.

Bhaskar however confirmed that her son and another person who she had come into contact have tested negative for COVID-19.

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¡°Her son tested negative while another person who came in contact with her also did not contract any virus. There is no spread of UK strain in AP from her,¡± Bhaskar said in an official release.

As per official data Andhra Pradesh administration has traced 1,406 persons out of 1,423 persons who came from the UK to the state.

"A total of 12 persons were tested positive out of these 1,406 persons who underwent RTPCR test. Further 6,364 primary contacts of 1,406 persons were tested and 12 tested positive.

A total of 24 samples of these positive patients were sent to CCMB, Hyderabad. Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) declared that UK strain was found in the sample of the woman belonging to Rajahmundry.

"Remaining 23 sample reports are yet to be received from CCMB", he said.

AFP

The woman was one of the two UK returnees who had managed to flee Delhi but was traced later.

This comes even as several states are reporting that many who had returned from the UK in recent weeks are untraceable.

According to the new SOPs issued by the Centre, any Covid-19 positive passengers from the UK must be shifted to a separate isolation unit, and their samples must be sent for genome sequencing.