WASHTENAW COUNTY, MI – Health officials have identified additional cases of the COVID-19 B.1.1.7 variant in two women living in Washtenaw County.
The two new cases are in women who were close contacts of a woman from Washtenaw County who tested positive for the variant after traveling to the United Kingdom, where B.1.1.7 originated, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and Washtenaw County Health Department officials said.
All three women are associated with the University of Michigan, officials said.
Since the MDHHS announced the first case of the variant in Michigan on Saturday, January 16, seven additional COVID-19 infections have been associated with that case, officials said. It is not yet known whether five other contacts close to the woman who tested positive for COVID-19 are infected with the variant, officials said.
All eight people were taken into isolation, officials said.
Although the presence of this variant is detected with current test methods, additional sequencing is needed to distinguish it from other more common variants of COVID-19 circulating in the community, officials said.
Variant B.1.1.7 appears to be more contagious, but not necessarily more serious than the primary strain of COVID-19, health officials said. Based on current evidence, health officials have also said that the current COVID-19 vaccine is effective against this variant.
MDHHS recommends that Michigan residents do the following to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and the new variant:
- Get vaccinated for COVID-19.
- Wear a mask around other people.
- Stay two meters away from the others.
- Wash your hands frequently.
- Ventilate the internal spaces.
More information on the COVID-19 B.1.1.7 variant can be found on the state website.
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