GENESEE COUNTY, MI – A resident of the country tested positive for the Brazilian variant of COVID-19, the first case in the area and only the second in the state of Michigan.
The province announced that the positive test for the P.1 Brazilian variant had been reported to it by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services after the Bureau of Laboratories tested it. Case investigation and contact detection were done for this patient, who tested positive for the first time on March 23, the health department said in a news release.
No other information about the patient was immediately available, but a provincial health official said the patient is an adult.
“Current evidence suggests that the P.1 (Brazil) variant has the ability to re-infect individuals previously infected with the original COVID-19 virus,” the country said in a statement.
Although the Brazilian variant is more contagious than the original COVID-19 virus, the measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 are the same, according to the province’s health department.
These precautions include wearing a mask and maintaining social distance, according to government executive Gretchen Whitmer’s orders, to avoid large gatherings and to be vaccinated.
Visit https://www.gc4me.com/ to pre-register for a vaccine through the Department of Health.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Brazilian variant of COVID-19 was first detected in the US in January. It was initially identified in travelers from Brazil, who were tested during a routine search at an airport in Japan.
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