GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. The Kent County Department of Health said it had discovered the first case of a new, more contagious type of COVID-19 in the area.
The variant is known as SARS-Cov-2 B.1.1.7.
“I’m a little surprised that we have not had more cases of this variant here in Western Michigan and that it has not happened before,” said Dr. Adam London, director of KCHD, said.
According to London, a woman in her 20s contracted it, but it is not clear how. He says there is no travel history to the UK, where the variant originated last year.
“It was a copy that was followed up by the state of Michigan to identify this variant,” London said. “Currently, they are pulling some of the samples through the state as part of a surveillance effort to determine where the distribution of this variant occurs.”
London says the woman has recovered in the meantime and she is doing well. KCHD does not believe she distributed it to anyone else, but is contact detection.
“We are now looking at their close contacts and making sure it does not spread from them, and also looking at other matters that were also close to this person,” London said.
Kalamazoo County on Friday confirmed its first B.1.1.7 case in an 80-year-old person. The state’s first case of the variant occurred in Washtenaw County in January.
Although the symptoms and severity of the new strain do not look different from the original, London B.1.1.7 spreads more easily, therefore the mutation is cause for concern. According to London, the spread is between 50 and 70 per cent higher.
London is concerned about the impact of further proliferation and says COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths in Western Michigan are manageable from now on.
“Keep doing the things that make it difficult for the coronavirus to spread,” London said. “Wearing face, social distance, avoiding gatherings and parties, and good hand hygiene.”
London adds that it is still important to vaccinate as many people as possible. He says current research shows that the vaccination against Pfizer and Moderna protects against B.1.1.7.
“We are going to continue to look at this variant and at any other variant that occurs in West Michigan,” London said. “It is very important that we find the variant and isolate it as well as possible, and therefore we try to interrupt it to become dominant in our community.”
The KCHD encourages testing of individuals who have traveled from Michigan over the past 14 days, especially to areas where the new variants are widely distributed.
The Department of Health and Human Services in Michigan has identified 30 cases of the B.1.1.7 variant in Michigan.