Out of the eight, five are from Mumbai and one each is from Mira Bhayander, Thane and Pune, said the State Health Ministry.
Eight UK returnees in Maharashtra were found to be infected with the new strain of COVID-19 on Monday. Out of the eight, five are from Mumbai and one each is from Mira Bhayander, Thane and Pune, said the State Health Ministry.
Between November 25 and December 21, 4,000 UK passengers arrived in the city out of which, 43 were found COVID-19 positive.
Their samples were sent to National Institute of Virology, Pune for genome sequence. Out of the 43, eight were found positive for the new strain.
"As per the protocol of the ICMR for the new strain, an asymptomatic patient has to quarantine for 14 days and asymptomatic patients with co-morbidities will have to stay indoors for 21 days," said State Health Minister Rajesh Tope.
Symptomatic patients will undergo treatment and then remain quarantined as per the procedure. "No need to panic, just take precaution," added Tope.
In a meeting held on Monday, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray stated that many passengers are entering into Maharashtra after landing at the airports of other states. He also said that the state government will request the Centre to quarantine them at the respective airports.
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