First case of British coronavirus variant found in Jacksonville

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Duval County Health Department confirmed on Friday that one case of the COVID variant first identified in the UK has been found in Jacksonville. But health experts warn the number could be even much higher.

According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated Thursday night, 347 cases of this B.1.1.7 variant have been found in Florida. That’s more than a third of the 981 cases identified in the United States to date.

Last week, 825,000 cases of COVID-19 were identified in the United States, according to CDC, while only an average of 6,000 samples per week receive the genomic sequencing needed to detect the variant.

Although standard COVID-19 tests come back within hours or a few days, additional testing to identify the variant takes much longer, according to UF Health director of infectious disease Chad Neilsen.

“Here at our hospital, if I chose to send it to a referral center – if I sent it in today, I probably wouldn’t have results for a few weeks,” said Neilsen.

That’s because only specially equipped labs can test for the variants.

“The vast majority of those (347 cases) we’re actually sequenced outside of Florida – at a California research center,” said Neilsen. “We just don’t have the robust ability in Florida or the United States to do this on a large scale.”

Neilsen thinks we’ve seen the most cases in Florida because a lot of people travel here.

“You also have a variety of laws and mandates in every county and, I think, that prevents us as a state from controlling COVID,” said Neilsen.

If there’s any good news, it’s that vaccines currently being given to seniors as well as health professionals are believed to be effective against the variant, a health department spokeswoman said.

Research published Thursday in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests a variant first identified in the Los Angeles area last year accounted for about 44% of cases in Southern California by the end of January, almost double that of a month earlier. Co-author Jasmine Plummer, a Cedars-Sinai researcher, said more research is needed to determine whether the variant spreads more easily than other COVID-19 variants or causes more disease.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, wrote in an accompanying editorial that new variants are likely to appear until the spread of the virus is reduced.

This announcement of a variant in Jacksonville comes a day after a student at the University of Central Florida was diagnosed with the British variant of the coronavirus, which is believed to be more easily transmissible. The unidentified student tested positive this week, Michael Deichen, associate vice president of UCF Student Health Services said in a statement on the university’s website Thursday.

The Orlando-based university is one of the largest in the country with more than 66,000 students. University officials said the student was isolated and contacts tracking measures had been taken.

“The tools we’re using to combat this variant are no different than the steps we’ve taken for nearly a year,” said Deichen. “COVID-19 and these new variants are not easily transferable if face coverings are worn correctly, physical distance is important. Maintained, and hands are regularly disinfected.”

The Florida Department of Health announced the first case of the UK variant late last year, and the state is now leading the nation in cases of the variant, with nearly 350 confirmed diagnoses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Tens of thousands of students across the country have tested positive for the virus, and some campuses have seen spikes in cases where students return to campus.

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