Tardy hunt for UK variant of virus

Though the Union Health Ministry has confirmed the presence of 96 instances of the ‘UK variant’ — a form of the Sars-Cov2 associated with high infections — in India, it is yet to significantly begin looking for the variant in those without such history. So far these variants have only been identified in those with international travel history after November. The new strain, B.1.1.7, has been reported to have several mutations that likely make it more infectious and is said to be responsible for a spike of coronavirus infections in the UK.