The total number of persons infected with the new COVID-19 strain in India surged to 102 as six more persons tested positive for the new UK variant of Sars-CoV-2, the Union Health Ministry said on Wednesday.

All these persons have been kept in single room isolation in designated healthcare facilities by respective state governments. Their close contacts have also been put under quarantine. Comprehensive contact tracing has been initiated for co-travellers, family contacts and others. Genome sequencing on other specimens is going on," the ministry had earlier said.

Meanwhile, India’s active COVID-19 caseload has fallen to 2.14 lakh (2,14,507), the lowest after 197 days, as per the updates from the  health ministry.

On Wednesday, India recorded 15,968 new cases, pushing the total caseload to 1,04,95,147 while the recovered cases surged to 10,129,111 with 17,817 new recoveries, which translates to a recovery rate of 95.51 per cent, the ministry said.

The country also recorded 202 new COVID-19 fatalities and the death toll reached 1,51,529, the ministry added.

The health ministry further said that the rollout of COVID-19 vaccine, scheduled to begin  from January 16, will provide priority to around 3 crore healthcare workers and the frontline workers, followed by those above 50 years of age and the under-50 population groups with co-morbidities numbering around 27 crore.