India recorded first six cases of mutant strain of coronavirus as UK returnees tested positive, the central government said on Tuesday. The mutated variant of SARS-CoV-2, first detected in the United Kingdom, is said to be 70 per cent more infectious.

The Union Health Ministry said that the samples of three UK returnees have been tested and found positive for new UK strain in NIMHANS, Bengaluru, two in Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad and one in National Institute of Virology, Pune.