Georgia becomes the fifth state with Super-COVID, while California reports 32 cases: the highly contagious British strain spreads rapidly from coast to coast when the 18-year-old boy, with no travel history, is most recently diagnosed
- The new variant is 50% and 70% more transmissible, say scientists
- Georgians go to the polls on Tuesday to choose elections for the Senate
- The first case of the wire in the United States was reported in a nursing home in Colorado
- It has since been discovered in New York, Florida and California
- San Diego reported 32 cases of the variant on Tuesday
- The “mutant” variant of the virus that began destroying Britain late last year, forcing Prime Minister Boris Johnson to announce a third blockade on Monday
Georgia on Tuesday announced its first case of the “mutant” strain COVID-19.
The virus is said to have been found in an 18-year-old boy with no travel history. Georgia joins New York, California, Colorado and Florida in all reporting cases.
The new variant is 50% and 70% more transmissible, say scientists.
Georgians voted in the final election on Tuesday to strike a balance of power in the new Congress, deciding in Senate elections that will surely shape the ability of President-elect Joe Biden to adopt what could be the most progressive governing agenda for generations.
The first U.S. case of the wire was reported last week at a remote nursing home in Colorado. It has since been discovered in other parts of the state, as well as in New York, Florida and California.
San Diego reported 32 cases of the variant on Tuesday, bringing the total number of cases in the U.S. to 37. Wilma Wooten, the county’s public health officer, said: “The fact that these cases have been identified in several parts of the region shows that this strain of the virus could spread rapidly. ‘
The “mutant” variant of the virus, which began to devastate Britain late last year, has increased cases and forced Prime Minister Boris Johnson to announce a third nationwide blockade on Monday.
The first US case of the wire was reported last week in a remote nursing home in Colorado. It has since been discovered in other parts of the state, as well as in New York, Georgia, Florida and California, with at least 37 people now infected.
The mutant strain was picked up on the same day that voters went to the polls in Georgia. Voters are photographed at the Sara Smith Elementary Polling Station in Buckhead County on January 5, 2021 in Atlanta during the Georgia election.
Georgia DPH Commissioner Katheen E. Toomey said: “The emergence of this variant in our state should be a wake-up call for all Georgians.”
In San Diego, 24 people newly confirmed with the virus are said to have no travel history and come from 19 different homes.
New York government Andrew Cuomo was identified on Tuesday the patient from New York on Monday as a worker at the jewelry store in Saratoga Springs, who is over 60 years old. The man had symptoms of COVID-19, but is “in preparation.”
He said the state is testing three more possible strain cases in Saratoga, taking up to 44 hours to do genome sequencing to detect the variant.
Like the first U.S. case of the Colorado variant, the man had no recent travel history, suggesting a community spread.
The CDC believes the strain first appeared in the UK in September and said last week that it suspected it had been circulating in the US for some time.
It is considered that the strain is 50 to 70% more transmissible, but not more deadly.
The new variant of the virus in the UK is not more deadly, but is about 50% more infectious. This diagram from different regions of the UK shows how much more infectious the new super-COVID strain is compared to other virus variants.
Empire State had earlier become the fourth in the country to detect the “mutant” version of the virus.
Cuomo on Tuesday backtracked on calls from NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio to ban all flights from Britain to the United States.
The governor has asked the federal government to start enforcing mandatory tests for all international passengers arriving in the US, as they already do with travel from the UK.
De-Blasio called on the Trump administration to “stop the madness” and block all travel to and from Britain to help stop any spread of the new super-infectious variant of the virus in Britain.
Now in the UK, it has been reported that about one in 50 residents – or about a million people – now has coronavirus.
In light of the December 28 CDC growth began calling on all airline passengers arriving from the UK – including US citizens – to give negative results for COVID-19 within 72 hours of departure. Unless a dual citizen or traveling for essential purposes, most Britons are currently barred from entering the US.
The UK is also battling a second mutant strain of the virus, which is said to come from South Africa, which experts fear could be resistant to vaccines and potentially more lethal.
This strain has not yet been detected in the United States.
