Editor’s Note: This story has been updated because the 63,080 vaccine doses delivered on Friday is not a one-day record, as the IDPH reported Saturday; the IDPH reported Friday that 74,965 doses had been given the day before.
The more contagious COVID-19 variant first found in the UK has surfaced in Lake County, health officials said Saturday.
“While new cases of COVID-19 have been declining since January, the emergence of this new variant here in Lake County underscores the importance of staying vigilant,” Mark Pfister, executive director of the Lake County health department, said in a press release.
“We all need to continue to follow precautions of wearing masks, washing hands, keeping six feet away from others, and avoiding crowds and poorly ventilated areas to limit the spread of the virus,” he said.
The person who came up with variant B.1.1.7 had traveled internationally and was in contact with a sick person before returning to the United States in late December, Pfister said.
On his return to Lake County, the person was quarantined from others and tested. The person did not have any symptoms of COVID-19.
The Centers for Disease Control federal website says 17 cases of the variant have been identified in Illinois.
Viruses are constantly changing and new variants are expected, the health department said. In addition to the B.1.1.7 variant, the 1,351 variant has recently been introduced in South Africa and the P.1 variant in Brazil.
“We expect to see more cases of these new variants in Lake County as they appear to spread more easily and more quickly than other variants,” said Dr. Sana Ahmed, medical epidemiologist for the Lake County health department, in the release. “It is extremely important that you follow quarantine recommendations and get tested if you have traveled or been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. Answer the call from contact investigators to help us protect our communities . “
Studies suggest that the currently available COVID-19 vaccines will be effective against the new strains.
The Illinois Department of Public Health reported that 63,080 doses were administered on Friday. The 7-day moving average of vaccines administered daily is 49,909 doses.
A total of 1,294,498 vaccines had been administered as of Friday evening, of the 2,132,025 now delivered, the IDPH said.
The state also reported 3,062 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus and 60 additional deaths. The figures roughly correspond to those of the past days. The dead include 19 people in Cook County, five in DuPage County, three in Kane County, one in Lake County, one in McHenry County, and two in Will County.
The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percentage of total test results from Jan. 30 to Feb. 5 is 3.4%.
On Friday night, there were 2,271 people in Illinois who were in the hospital with COVID-19. Of these, 485 were patients in the ICU and 246 patients with COVID-19 on ventilator.
For more information on COVID-19 variants, visit cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/transmission/variant.html.