According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 50 cases have been identified in the US of the more contagious, mutated coronavirus strain first discovered in the UK.
In an update Wednesday, the CDC listed 26 cases in California, two in Colorado, 22 in Florida, one in Georgia, and an additional case in New York, for a total of 52 cases. On Thursday, the Pennsylvania Department of Health said it also had a confirmed case of the variant.
The CDC noted that the numbers are an underestimate, writing, “The cases identified above are based on a sample of SARS-CoV-2 positive samples and do not represent the total number of B.1.1.7 lineage cases that may be circulating in the United States and may not match the numbers reported by states, territories, tribes, and local officials. “
The CDC plans to update the page biweekly as more reported cases of the variant strain emerge.
The coronavirus B.1.1.7. variant would be more transmissible than previous strains, but it is not thought to be more virulent or resistant to vaccines and treatment. Infectious disease experts weren’t surprised to learn that the variant is already circulating in the US, given the ongoing travel.
In a recent interview with Newsweek, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s foremost infectious disease expert, said it is clear the mutated British species will show up in other states.
“I think it’s pretty clear that if it’s in places like California and New York and Colorado… it will be in multiple states soon,” Fauci said, adding later, “I don’t think the British mutation [variant] has been responsible for the fairly significant increase in the number of cases in the United States because the British variety is here, but it is not the dominant species in the United States. But even if that’s not the dominant strain, we still have a very steep curve of cases in our country. “
New York announced it discovered its first case of the British variant in a Saratoga man in his 60s. Gov. Andrew Cuomo called the mutated strain a “game-changer” during a recent press conference when he protested federal health officials for not enforcing a travel ban or demanding testing for travelers from the UK.
Meanwhile, Colorado officials uncovered both the confirmed case of the coronavirus variant and a possible second case among members of the Colorado National Guard who were deployed to help the Good Samaritan Society nursing home in Simla, where a widespread COVID-19 outbreak occurred.
Furthermore, the variant case in Georgia was confirmed in an 18-year-old man with no travel history.
Amid the circulation of the more transmissible strain, top health experts have emphasized the need for mitigation measures to prevent the spread of viruses and further burden already overwhelmed health systems.
Dr. Nicole Saphier, Fox News medical officer, said the new infectious species will be harder to control, although she noted that there is already an irrepressible virus spread.
“In the end it just means that it might be a little bit harder to control this virus, but we already have an irrepressible spread, so we need to continue wearing the mask, take physical distance and encourage people to get vaccines,” said Saphier to “Fox & Friends First” co-hosts.