Gurugram, Dec 26 (IANS): The Gurugram health authorities on Saturday made Covid-19 tests mandatory for residents who have arrived here from the United Kingdom (UK) after December 8 and also warned of strict action against violators.

The officials took this decision following the detection of a mutated and more infectious strain of Covid-19 in the European country.

The health department has appealed to all the UK returnees to follow necessary Covid-19 guidelines and undergo mandatory coronavirus tests in the district, said an official statement.

It further said that many of the returnees are not coming forward for the test despite several requests by the health officials.

"Those who are not coming forward for the Covid test will have to face an action under section 188 of the IPC, besides, patients with the travel history who flout mandatory quarantine norm will also face the music."

According to the health authorities, out of the 407 residents who have returned from the UK recently, samples of 191 people have been collected so far.

"We have directed all the hospitals in the district to share contact details of such residents if they have visited the facilities. Apart from this, the department will soon launch their contact tracing to contain the spread of coronavirus," said Virender Yadav, Civil Surgeon, Gurugram.