1,122 Bengalureans flying in from UK tested for new Covid-19 strain

By Sunday, Karnataka had tested 1,587 travellers from the UK as part of ongoing efforts to determine if any have been infected by a new variant of novel coronavirus found in sizable numbers in the European country.

According to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), 1,122 of these people are Bengaluru residents. So far, 15 fliers from Bengaluru have tested positive for the disease.

Shockingly, the data states that 204 passengers have been classified as “untraceable”. The largest number of people in this category (64) had given officials an address in the BBMP’s East Zone. A further 43 people from the Mahadevapura zone also fall into this category.

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Of the people tested so far, the majority are from East Zone, comprising 267 people as of Sunday. Out of this, one person has tested positive.

The next highest numbers are from South Zone where 249 people were tested. The special officer in charge of South Zone, Munish Moudgil, had earlier told DH that all protocols regarding contact-tracing would be carried out among those tested positive. One individual from that south zone has tested positive.

In Mahadevapura Zone, 173 international fliers have been tested so far, out of which five people tested positive. In the West Zone, 140 people have been tested so far, out of which three have tested positive, and in Bommanahalli Zone, 115 people have tested out of which four people were positive.

In Yelahanka, 83 people were tested but none was found to have the disease and the situation was the same in the RR Nagar zone where 73 people were tested. In Dasarahalli, a scant 19 people have been tested so far, out of which one individual tested positive.

An officer from the BBMP who did not want to be named said that most primary contacts of the cases are their fellow airline passengers sitting in nearby seats. “We are testing all contacts,” the official said.

Some 289 individuals are yet to be tested in the city, the bulk of them from Mahadevapura Zone (103 individuals). The reports of a further 349 people are awaited. The majority of reports are from East Zone (83), followed by Mahadevapura (77 people).