Health officials in Massachusetts announce 19 new cases of coronavirus

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health on Sunday announced 19 new cases of coronavirus variants, bringing the total recorded count of the more contagious variant of the state to 29 infections.

All 29 cases are of the British variant.

“Four of the 29 cases have evidence of recent travel, indicating that the majority of cases identified in Massachusetts are obtained by the community,” DPH said.

‘The B.1.1.7 variant is known to spread more easily and has caused a rapid increase in cases in the UK, several other states and in parts of California and Florida,’ the agency added. “Two other variants of concern are the B.1.351, which was originally found in South Africa, and the P.1 variant, which originated in Brazil. There are currently no confirmed cases of the two variants in Massachusetts. ”

Experts in infectious diseases believe that the other two variants are already in Massachusetts.

Tests completed at the State Public Health Laboratory identified the 19 new infections of the B.1.1.7 variant.

The first British variant in the country was identified in late December and on January 17 in Massachusetts.

In Massachusetts, the cases ranged from 4 years to nearly 70 years. It includes 13 women and 16 men.

There were 17 cases in Worcester County, one in Hampden County, two in Middlesex County, six in Norfolk County, two in Plymouth County and one in Suffolk County.

“The best defense against a rapid increase in cases of worrying variants is to prevent the spread of COVID,” DPH said. New information from (the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) shows that improving the fit and filtering of masks helps reduce the spread of the virus.

“Mask fitting can be improved by using a mask with a nose wire, and by using a mask fitting or by tying the ruffles and tightening the sides,” DPH added. “Mask filtering is improved by using multiple layers.”