A super-spreading COVID-19 strain first discovered in the UK was found in a resident of Oahu with no travel history.
“This indicates that it came from somewhere in the community,” Sarah Kemble, acting state epidemiologist, told a news conference. A close contact has also been found to be positive for the virus, although testing is still underway to confirm the variant. “There is some community transfer, though it is small now. We did not detect many of these cases, and we looked into them. ‘
Hawaii health officials warned earlier this week that the 60% more contagious UK strain, known as B1.1.7, could spread to the islands, a possible setback in the race to vaccinate as many residents as possible before exposing them to new strains word.
The Division of State Laboratories of the Department of Health has identified four samples that display a molecular clue related to the B1.1.7 (variant). ‘The DOH is still confirming the other samples.
In addition, health officials last week found nine cases of the Denmark L452R strain, although it has not yet been shown to spread faster or pose a greater risk than other mutations.
More transmissible strains mean it could take 80% to 90% of the population to be vaccinated to bring about so-called herd immunity instead of the state target of 60% to 70%, Kemble told reporters earlier this week .
“We do know that it is probably a higher vaccine coverage that is needed to get the tipping point where we can break the transmission through vaccination in the community,” she said. “It simply came to our notice then. It just underscores the importance of getting the vaccine out and getting people to come to get weapons. ”
Health officials have reported 101 new coronavirus infections, bringing the total of the state to 26,286 cases since the start of the pandemic. No new COVID-19 deaths have been reported, and the death toll in the country remains at 416. The death toll from the U.S. coronavirus has exceeded 456,900. Of the total number of infections in the state, 1,342 cases are considered active.
The British variant can spread more aggressively, so residents need to be vigilant, Lieutenant Government Josh Green said.
“Be in control of what we can control, and that’s our behavior. “One of our weapons is vaccinations,” Green said, adding that as of Thursday, the state had fired 189,446 shots and distributed an average of about 50,000 doses a week. By March 1, the goal is to get about 350,000 gunshots and by April 1, 550,000, he said. “We are in a race against time to protect our kupuna and all our people in the state. This is the way we defeat COVID. ”
The tools to combat the variants have not changed, including wearing a mask, social distance, washing hands and staying home when you are sick, Governor David Ige said.
‘We do want to emphasize that the B1.17 variant is different. As we have seen in the UK, it can quickly spread and eradicate all the progress we have made here in the state, but we do know how to stop these and other variants, ‘he said, urging the public not to to attend. personalized Super Bowl parties that can be super-distribution events. ‘We know what steps and precautions we need to take to slow down the spread. We are not helpless in fighting this variant or the spread of COVID-19. ”