Amid new fears of mutant coronavirus strain found in the United Kingdom (UK), a bunch of media reports stated that 15 to 20 incoming passengers from Britain have tested positive for a mutant variant of the COVID-19 spreading virus.
A more transmissible strain of SARS-CoV-2 was detected in the UK last week after which many countries including India suspended flights from Britain.
The claim
A report published by BusinessLine on Wednesday, Dec. 23, claimed that at least 15 UK returnees were found infected with the new strain in Mumbai. "15 passengers who arrived in Mumbai from UK have mutant have mutant coronavirus," read the headline of the now-tweaked report.
Secondly, news daily Rajasthan Patrika too published a story with a misleading headline which said that half of the incoming passengers from the UK have tested positive for the mutated variant of the deadly virus.
Similarly, Deccan Chronicle reported that a woman from Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, has been infected with a new strain of the coronavirus.
The aforementioned reports, as shown in pictures, triggered a panic-like situation among the readers as the mutant COVID-19 strain is said to be about 70 per cent more transmissible. It was on December 19 that UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the discovery of a first mutant coronavirus strain that he said was more infections.
Fact Check
As the dubious media reports sparked fear in the citizens, the fact-checking arm of the Centre's Press Information Bureau (PIB) took to its official Twitter account to debunk all such claims.
PIB Fact Check stated that India is yet to establish a genome sequence that can identify new strains of the fatal virus and therefore, the reports claiming that travellers were found infected with a mutant variant are all untrue.
"Claim: In a news report, it is being claimed that half of COVID positive travellers from Britain are infected with new strains. #PIBFactCheck: This news is incorrect. A genome sequence remains to be established to identify new strains of the virus in travelers," said PIB Fact Check in a tweet and went on to simultaneously quash the other two reports as well.
Meanwhile, a second new variant of the coronavirus has also been discovered in the UK after which the country reported the highest number of single-day COVID-19 fatalities since late April. According to official figures, the UK reported 744 fatalities on Wednesday, taking the overall death toll to 69,157.
