Tamil Nadu’s Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan on Tuesday confirmed that one passenger from the UK tested positive for the new strain of coronavirus, PTI reported. He had been isolated in the King Institute of Preventive Medicine and Research, the official added.

“The Centre has confirmed one person from the state has been affected by the UK strain,” Radhakrishnan said as per PTI reports.

The Health Secretary further confirmed that the affected has been isolated in a separate room in the King Institute of Preventive Medicine and Research here while his co-passengers and other contacts have been tested and found negative for COVID-19.

He said,”The person was being treated in a separate room in a separate wing at the institute on the directions of Chief Minister K Palaniswami.”

Radhakrishnan added that more than 2,200 people had arrived in the state from the UK after November 25 and all of them underwent RT-PCR tests. As of Tuesday, 17 returnees have tested positive for COVID-19.

As far as treatment and existing testing protocol, he said the Union Health Ministry has informed there was no requirement for any modification.

“All those people including senior doctors, nurses are in separate wing. We have set up 120 specialised beds…”, he said. Reiterating that there was no need for any panic because of the new strain, he said RT-PCR test was being done for all returnees from the UK.

Those found positive are being treated in separate rooms even though results of their genomic sequencing were awaited from the National Institute of Virology in Pune.

“Therefore, the chances of spread of the virus in Tamil Nadu is less”, the official said.

Earlier in the day, the Union Health Ministry had confirmed that six people who returned from the United Kingdom had tested positive for the strain.

“All patients have been kept in single room isolation in designated healthcare facilities by the state governments. Their close contacts have also been put under quarantine. Comprehensive contact tracing has been started for co-travellers, their families and others,” the government official said.