New COVID-19 variant: 6 tests positive in India

Indian health officials say they found six people positive with the new COVID-19 variant mainly found in Britain. As per officials, these individuals had returned from Britain in recent weeks. The new variant of COVID-19 is developing a wave of panic and limitation around the world due to the new, more contagious strain of coronavirus.India currently has the second largest number of coronavirus patients after US.

The health ministry of India said in a statement on Tuesday that all six patients have been kept in isolation. "Their close contacts have also been kept in quarantine," the report stated.

With more than 10 million cases, India is the most affected by the virus after the United States. Around 150,000 people died in the world's second-most populous country.

On Tuesday, 16,432 new cases of the virus were reported, a sharp drop from around a hundred thousand patients a day earlier in September.

The ministry said that India had suspended all flights from the UK by the end of the month, but by the end of November some 33,000 passengers had taken off.

The ministry said 114 of those arrivals were found positive for coronavirus and their samples were tested for a new version, which was detected in parts of Europe and Asia.

Health officials hope to launch a vaccination campaign for some 300 million people early next month.

The news agency told citing two sources with information on the case, that India was likely to approve the vaccine being developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford after its local manufacturer submitted additional data.

The AstraZeneca-Oxford shot is considered important for low-income countries and people living in hot climates because it is cheaper, more comfortable to transport and can be stored for more extended periods of time at average fridge temperatures.

The Central Pharmaceutical Standards Control Organization of India (CDSCO) first reviewed three applications on 9 December and asked for more information from all companies, including the Serum Institute of India (SII), which is producing AstraZeneca shots.

India, the world's largest vaccine manufacturer, wants to start vaccinating its citizens next month and consider emergency use authorization applications for vaccines made by Pfizer and local company Bharat Biotech.

Getting the world's second-most populous vaccine with the world's second-highest infection rate would also be a major step in the fight against the epidemic.