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Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Monday that the first case of the ‘mutant strain’ of COVID-19, which originated in the UK, was found in a New York man.
Cuomo said the man, who is 60, was diagnosed with the new strain despite having no travel history.
“The Wadsworth lab has confirmed the first New York State case of the UK variant (B.1.1.7) of the virus that causes COVID,” Cuomo said.
Cuomo said the man is from Saratoga County, New York.
It is feared that the B.1.1.7 strain is 70% more transmissible and spreads more easily among children.
It is not believed to lead to more serious cases and higher mortality rates have not been reported.
Governor Andrew Cuomo (pictured) announced Monday that the first case of the ‘mutant strain’ of COVID-19, which originated in the UK, was found in a New York man.
‘Super-COVID’ was first reported in Colorado last week. It was later confirmed in California, which now has six cases, and Florida before being found in New York (all represented).
Cuomo said the man, who is 60, was diagnosed with the new strain despite having no travel history. More than 20.6 million cases of the virus have been reported in the US.
As of Monday afternoon, the US reports a total of 351,590 deaths
According to local reports, the man works at a jewelry store in Saratoga County.
Three other people working at the store also tested positive for COVID-19. As of Monday afternoon, it is unclear if they also have the UK strain.
Local officials are urging people who visited N Fox Jewelers in Saratoga Springs between December 18 and 24 to get tested for the virus.
‘We are checking the jewelry employees. Since it was a retail establishment, we want the public’s cooperation, ”Cuomo said.
Cuomo said the man “seems to be getting better.”
The first case of the strain in the US was confirmed last week in a nursing home located in a remote Colorado town.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis confirmed Dec. 29 that the new virus had been identified in his state, in Elbert County.
It was revealed on Saturday that the first confirmed infection was from a National Guard member in his 20s, who had been assigned to work at the Good Samaritan Society’s nursing home in Simla, to help with his outbreak.
Cuomo said the man is from Saratoga County, New York. Local reports have indicated that the man works at a jewelry store in Saratoga Springs.
The strain was then found in California and Florida, and has now made its way to New York, which has reported 11,209 new cases of coronaivrus.
New York hospitalizations amount to 8,251 and the state added an additional 170 deaths.
The data suggests that the variant may have already been present in the US at undetectable levels in recent months, perhaps since October.
“It wouldn’t be anything surprising if at least some of the cases were B117,” said Eric Topol, director of the Scripps Translational Research Institute in La Jolla, California.
Topol’s team confirmed Wednesday that at least one coronavirus infection in California was caused by the mutant strain.
“It’s probably been here for a while at low levels, but you don’t see it until you look for it.”
Florida became the third US state to confirm a case of the mutant strain of COVID-19.
The Florida Department of Health confirmed the diagnosis Thursday night. Authorities said the man is 20 years old, lives in Martin County and has no travel history.
Researcher in protective clothing leaves the Good Samaritan Society nursing home
The tension has caused England to plunge into another national blockade until at least February.
