Colorado health officials say the man who tested positive for a COVID-19 variant that sounded the alarm because it was a more contagious version of the disease is a Colorado National Guard soldier.
The man appears to be the first confirmed U.S. case of the variant, first identified in the UK. However, he has not traveled internationally, indicating that the variant has already spread in Colorado.
The guard, who is in his twenties, was deployed at the Good Samaritan Society nursing home in Simla, where the Colorado National Guard is responding to an ongoing outbreak. Simla is about 50 km northeast of Colorado Springs.
A second waiting member deployed to the nursing home tested positive for COVID-19, as it may also have the variant, state health officials say. That person also did not travel internationally recently.
The guard members were tested on 24 December.
The Colorado National Guard arrived at the facility on Dec. 23. A total of six guard members were deployed to the facility, four of whom did not test positive for coronavirus.
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