Vadodara: A man who had returned to the city and tested positive for Covid-19 has now been found infected with the new strain of the novel coronavirus that has spread panic in the UK.
The patient is presently undergoing treatment at a government health facility in the city.
Sources said that three persons from the city and district had tested positive for Covid-19 on return from the UK. Three of their contacts had also tested positive. The samples of those who tested positive were sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, to ascertain the strain of the virus that had infected them. It has come to light that one of the travellers and his three contacts were not infected by the mutant virus found in the UK.
The result of one person is awaited even as a person residing in the Raopura area was found infected with the mutant strain.
The patient is a 32-year-old male who had tested negative in the UK and arrived in India on December 21. His samples were collected again and he was found suffering from Covid-19.
Sources said that the samples were also sent to NIV where it was found that he was suffering from the new strain believed to be far more virulent than the previous ones.
An official said that none of the contacts of the man were found to be suffering from Covid-19. Tests had been performed on all of them. He added that despite the negative reports, the close contacts had been kept under observation and home isolation.