New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is wearing a protective face mask while speaking during a daily briefing following the outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19) in Manhattan, New York, New York, USA, on July 13, 2020.
Mike Segar | Reuters
The state of New York has confirmed its first case of a new, more contagious variant of the coronavirus initially discovered in the UK, government Andrew Cuomo said on Monday.
The experts said the strain, which has also been found in California, Florida and Colorado, is more transmissible, but does not appear to make people sicker or increase the risk of Covid-19.
The case was identified in a 60-year-old Saratoga County man who had no travel history, Cuomo said during a conference with reporters. The man, who is now recovering, worked in a jewelry store where three other people also tested positive for Covid-19. The state is investigating whether the cases were caused by the new tribe.
Cuomo told reporters that the state conducted about 5,000 tests in search of the new variant, known as B.1.1.7. Cuomo said he believes it is “much more” widespread than people already know.
“If other countries could test as much as we tested and tested for the British tribe, just as much as we tested, they would find it,” Cuomo said, adding that officials have yet to see any cases of tension in the downstate New York City area.
U.S. health officials said the arrival in the country of the variant is not a surprise, though it could make matters worse if allowed to spread unchecked.
Although the new variant does not appear to cause serious illness in people who are infected and current vaccines still need to work against it, it could lead to more hospitalizations due to an increase in cases, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. last week. The US is also on the lookout for a second new, highly contagious strain first found in South Africa, similar to that in the UK, CDC officials said.
“Increased infection is a problem, but the increased hospitalization rate is a game changer, because if a hospital capacity in a region is threatened, the region will have to close,” Cuomo told reporters.
In California, Gov. Newsom said Monday the state has now confirmed six cases of the new variant, all in the southern part of the state. One person in San Diego County has been admitted to the hospital, he said.
“We think we should actually expect others to be identified,” Newsom said at a news conference.
State officials are expected to provide an update on California’s genomic testing late Tuesday, which is being conducted to “understand more comprehensively what this strain looks like and how it is done,” Newsom said. He said state health officials are making efforts to locate contact.
The CDC now requires all airline passengers traveling from the UK to the United States to provide proof of a negative Covid-19 test taken no longer than three days before their departure.
In the UK on Monday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a new national closure order over England until at least mid-February in hopes of slowing the spread of the new variant. He said the country’s leading medical officials believe the tension is between 50% and 70% more transferable than in previous versions.
“With most of the country already under extreme measures, it is clear that we need to do more to bring this new variant under control while our vaccines are being rolled out,” Johnson said in a television announcement.
– CNBC’s Riya Bhattacharjee contributed to this report.