A case of the so-called “Super Strain” of the COVID-19 variant that is said to be about 70 percent more contagious has now been confirmed in New York.
According to the New York government, Andrew Cuomo, on Monday, January 4, a man in his 60s is now symptomatically feeling better.
The man works at N. Fox Jewelers on Broadway in Saratoga Springs, which has been closed since Thursday, December 24th.
The state is asking anyone who visited the store from Friday, December 18 to Christmas Day to be tested and to notify the state or local health authorities.
“Because the virus strain is more transmissible, it can lead to a higher infection rate and possibly a higher hospitalization rate,” Cuomo said. “I urge New Yorkers to continue to do what is proven to reduce the spread. Wear a mask, social distance and be careful.”
As with the six other confirmed cases in the United States, the man did not travel recently, meaning he became infected by spreading the community.
The first case in the United States was identified in Colorado on Tuesday afternoon, December 29th.
The man is in his early twenties and is a Colorado National Guardsman hired to help a nursing home struggling with a COVID outbreak.
On Wednesday, December 30, Gavin Newsom, California government, reported that the second U.S. case of the variety strain was confirmed in a person in the southern part of the state whose age and gender were not disclosed.
On Thursday, December 31, Florida confirmed a case of the variant strain, identifying the person as a man in his twenties who lives in Martin County and has no travel history.
Later that day, California officials confirmed that three more people were infected with the virus variant. This brings the total number of known cases of the “Super Strain” in the US to six.
The strain was discovered in the United Kingdom before spreading to other European countries.
The British variant has also been detected in Canada as well as Australia.
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