GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Kent County Health Department says it has discovered the first case of a new, more contagious strain of COVID-19 in the area.
The variant is known as SARS-Cov-2 B.1.1.7.
“I’m a little surprised that we haven’t had more cases of this variant here in West Michigan and it hasn’t happened before,” said Dr. Adam London, Director of KCHD.
According to London, a woman in her 20s contracted it, but it’s not clear how. He says there is no travel history to the UK, where the variant originated last year.
“This was a specimen sequenced by the state of Michigan for identification as this variant,” London said. “Right now they are pulling some of those samples across the state as part of a surveillance effort to find out where the spread of this variant is taking place.”
London says the woman has since recovered and is doing well. KCHD doesn’t believe she spread it to anyone else but is contact tracking.
“We are now looking at their close contacts and making sure it doesn’t spread from them and are also looking at other cases that were close to this person,” London said.
Kalamazoo County confirmed its first B.1.1.7 case in an 80-year-old on Friday. The first case of the state variant occurred in Washtenaw County in January.
While the symptoms and severity of the new species appear to be no different from the original, London says B.1.1.7 spreads more easily, which is why the mutation is concerning. According to London, the broadcast is between 50 and 70 percent higher.
London is concerned about the impact of further spread, saying that as of now COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths in West Michigan are manageable.
“Keep doing those things that make the spread of the coronavirus difficult,” London said. “Wearing a face mask, social distancing, avoiding gatherings and parties, and good hand hygiene.”
London adds that it is also important to vaccinate as many people as possible. He says current research shows that the vaccines Pfizer and Moderna appear to protect against B.1.1.7.
“We will continue to look for this variant and any other variant that may arise in West Michigan,” London said. “It is very important that we find those variants and isolate them as much as possible, so we try to prevent them from becoming dominant in our community.”
The KCHD encourages testing of individuals who have traveled from Michigan in the past 14 days, especially to areas where the new variants are widely distributed.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has identified 30 cases of the B.1.1.7 variant in Michigan.