Mumbai: Passengers from UK quarantined amid new coronavirus strain concerns

Passengers arriving from the United Kingdom (UK) in Mumbai on Tuesday morning have been sent for institutional quarantine in the wake of the new coronavirus strain.

People who came to receive them said, "Government should have informed us before. Didn't passengers board flight after being permitted by authorities?"

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Commissioner, Iqbal Singh Chahal on Monday said, "No flights to land from UK post 2:30 am. Passengers who have boarded flights will undergo institutional quarantine. Asymptomatic people will be quarantined at hotels while symptomatic passengers will be admitted at GT Hospital."

Flight services from the UK to India have been suspended till December 31 over the spread of a new strain of coronavirus in London and England.

On December 20, Prime Minister Boris Johnson informed the public that a new variant of COVID-19 virus has been found in the UK.

He tweeted, "Given the early evidence we have on this new variant of the virus, and the potential risk it poses, it is with a heavy heart that I must tell you we cannot continue with Christmas as planned."

( With inputs from ANI )