WASHTENAW COUNTY, MI – There are now seven cases associated with a Washtenaw County woman who contracted a variant of COVID-19, Washtenaw County health officials confirmed on Tuesday.
Authorities are awaiting the results of laboratory work by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to determine whether these positive cases are variant B.1.1.1.7, said Washtenaw County Health Department spokeswoman Susan Ringler-Cerniglia on 19 January.
Michigan’s first case of this COVID-19 variant was identified in the Washtenaw County woman on Saturday, January 16. The person recently traveled to the United Kingdom from where variant B.1.1.7. It originated, officials said.
Contagious coronavirus variant identified in Michigan
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.
The woman tested negative on January 1 in the UK, before returning to Washtenaw County on January 3, according to Ringler-Cerniglia. She tested negative for COVID-19 twice before testing positive on January 8, 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.
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