The first case of COVID-19 was identified in Lake County, health officials said on Saturday.
The Lake County Health Department has reported the first case of coronavirus variant B.1.1.7, which is the most common strain in the UK in recent months.
The person infected with the variant traveled internationally and was in contact with a sick person before leaving to return to the United States in late December, health officials said.
According to the department, the individual did not show any symptoms of coronavirus.
“We expect to see more cases of these new variants in Lake County, as they appear to be spreading more easily and faster than other variants,” said Dr. Sana Ahmed, an epidemiologist for LCHD. “It is extremely important that you follow the quarantine recommendations and be tested if you have traveled or been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.”
Health officials recalled that studies suggest that the currently available COVID-19 vaccine is effective against new strains.
In Illinois, the first known case of the more contagious strain was announced by health officials on Friday, January 15th.
A Chicago Department of Public Health investigation found that the individual had traveled to the UK and the Middle East in the 14 days prior to the diagnosis, officials said, noting that the department worked to identify the person’s close contacts to alert them to quarantine and to isolate .
Although many remain unsure about the new COVID-19 variant first discovered in the UK, the top Illinois doctor said on Friday that enough is known so that people can take appropriate precautions.
“… If anything is more transmissible, that would suggest we need to double our masks,” Dr. Ngozi Ezike, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, said Friday, stressing social distancing and hand washing. “Like all those things I said … the message doesn’t really change, it just means it’s more important now than ever to stick to it. [mitigations]. ”
A British scientist has revealed some evidence to suggest that the strain has a higher risk of death than the original strain, although he warned that the data are uncertain.
Patrick Vallance, the UK government’s chief scientific adviser, said that for a 60-year-old man with the original version of the virus, “the average risk is that for every 1,000 people who become infected, about 10 will be expected to unfortunately he dies ”.
“With the new variant, for 1,000 infected people, one would expect about 13 or 14 people to die,” he said.
At a coronavirus news conference on Friday, both Ezike and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said attenuations could be increased statewide if there are widespread reports of the new variant.
“If we see an increase in the UK variant, we know it will start to multiply very quickly, once it takes significant control,” Ezike said. “We know the numbers are very, very small now. But that can change …”
The doctor previously warned that the newly discovered strain could be dominant as early as March.
The British version was first detected in September, World Health Organization officials previously announced. Since then, cases have exploded in Britain, resulting in Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s decision to impose a national blockade.
The British variant is one of two new contagious viral strains that have emerged recently, the CDC said in a telebriefing late last month.