A passenger who returned from the United Kingdom has tested positive for COVID-19 at Chennai airport on Tuesday. His sample has been sent to Pune to check if it is the new strain of the virus.

On the other hand, fiver passengers from a flight that landed in Delhi from the UK have tested positive for the virus on Monday evening. However, it was not clear whether they carried the new strain of virus from the UK.

"Five out of 266 passengers and crew members of a flight, which arrived at Delhi airport from London last night, have tested positive for COVID-19. Their samples have been sent to NCDC for research and they have been sent to a care centre," official said.

The airports in India have been put on high alert and passengers arriving from Britain on direct or transit flights are being made to undergo RT-PCR COVID-19 tests.

Moreover, the Center has banned all flights to and from the UK after the discovery of a new and more infectious coronavirus strain spreading in the country. The air-travel ban will stay till December 31 midnight from the midnight of Tuesday.