The US has now reported several cases of the new and apparently more contagious variant of the first-found coronavirus in the UK, raising concerns about how long the mutant version has been here and how widely it has spread.
The first known case was reported in Colorado Tuesday. The infected person was identified as a National Guard sent out to help a nursing home struggling with rebellion. Health officials have said he may have a second member of the Guard.
And Wednesday, California confirmed the first known case in that country’s most populous state, which is currently experiencing the deadliest month of the pandemic. The news of a second confirmed case in less than 24 hours showed a strong sign that the disease is spreading more widely in the country.
California Governor Gavin Newsom said he learned about the issue in southern California on Wednesday. He announced the news at an online chat with Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s leading infectious disease expert.
During the conference, Fauci said: “I don’t think Californians should think this is weird, I guess. Newsom did not provide any further information about the person who became infected.
Colorado and California issues have raised a number of questions about how the new variant has reached the U.S. and whether it’s too late to stop it now, with leading experts saying it appears to be already spread elsewhere in the United States.
“The virus is becoming more adaptable, and we are like deer in the inner lights,” said Dr Eric Topol, head of the Scripps Research Translation Institute. He noted that the U.S. is doing far less genetic classification of virus samples to detect changes than other developed countries are doing, so it may have been slow to make this new discovery. lorg.
The Colorado guard became the first confirmed case in the country in his 20s, and had not traveled, officials said. He has mild symptoms and is lonely at home, while the suspect with the suspect separates at a hotel in Colorado while further genetic analysis is performed on his sample, officials said.
Several states, including California, Massachusetts and Delaware, are also analyzing suspicious virus samples for the variant, said Dr. Greg Armstrong, who leads genetic sequences at the U.S. Centers for Control and Prevention Galaran
Experts say the coronavirus vaccines currently in circulation are likely to continue to work to protect people against the new variant. Scientists believe that, although more contagious, it does not cause worse illness than other established changes.
But the discovery of U.S. cases has added urgency to the country’s vaccination campaign against Covid-19, which has killed more than 340,000 people nationwide, as a faster-spreading virus could overwhelm hospitals with patients who are very ill.
Researchers estimate that the variance is 50% to 70% more contagious, said Dr. Eric France, chief medical officer in Colorado.
“Instead of just making two or three sick, you could spread it to four or five,” France said. “That means we will have more issues in our communities. The numbers of cases rise rapidly and, of course, with more cases come more hospitals. ”
Many countries have restricted travel from the UK as a result of the new change. Britain is seeing infections go up and hospitals rise to their highest levels. The variant was also found in at least 17 countries, including South Korea, Spain, Australia and Canada.
South Africa has also discovered a Covid-19 infectious variant that drives the latest spike of cases, hospitalization and death.
The CDC issued rules on Christmas Day requiring passengers who arrived from Britain to show proof of a negative Covid-19 test. But U.S. health officials said the lack of Colorado patient travel history indicates that the new variant is already spreading in this country.
Topol said it is too late to ban travel.
“We have finally found it. Colorado seems to be one of many landings here, ”he said. “It’s all over the place. How can you prevent travel from everywhere? ”