Georgia becomes the FIFTH state with Super-COVID as California reports 32 cases: The highly contagious strain of the UK spreads rapidly from coast to coast when an 18-year-old boy with no travel history is the last to be diagnosed
- The new variant is between 50% and 70% more transmissible, say scientists
- Georgians are going to the polls on Tuesday to launch high-risk Senate elections
- The first case of the strand in the United States was reported in a nursing home in Colorado
- Since then, it has also been discovered in New York, Florida and California
- San Diego on Tuesday was reporting 32 cases of the variant
- The ‘mutant’ variant of the virus that started ravaging the UK at the end of last year, forcing PM Boris Johnson to announce a third block on Monday
Georgia on Tuesday announced its first case of the ‘mutant’ strain COVID-19.
The virus would have been found in an 18-year-old boy with no travel history. Georgia joins New York, California, Colorado and Florida in all cases of notification.
The new variant is between 50% and 70% more transmissible, say the scientists.
Georgians cast final high-risk votes on Tuesday in the elections to determine the balance of power in the new Congress, deciding the run-off elections to the Senate will certainly shape President-elect Joe Biden’s ability to enact what could be the agenda of more progressive government in generations.
The chain’s first case in the United States was reported at a remote health facility in Colorado last week. Since then, it has also been discovered in other parts of the state, as well as in New York, Florida and California.
San Diego on Tuesday reported 32 cases of the variant, bringing the total number of cases in the US to 37. Wilma Wooten, a county public health officer, said: ‘The fact that these cases have been identified in various parts of the region shows that this strain of the virus may be spreading rapidly. ‘
The ‘mutant’ variant of the virus that began to devastate the UK at the end of last year, causing an increase in cases and forcing Prime Minister Boris Johnson to announce a third national blockade on Monday.
The chain’s first case in the United States was reported at a remote health facility in Colorado last week. Since then, it has also been discovered in other parts of the state, as well as in New York, Georgia, Florida and California, with at least 37 people infected
The mutant strain was collected the same day voters went to the polls in Georgia. Voters are photographed at the Sara Smith Elementary polling station in Buckhead District on January 5, 2021 in Atlanta, during the second round of the Georgia elections
Katheen E. Toomey, DPH commissioner from Georgia, said: ‘The appearance of this variant in our state should be a warning to all Georgians.’
In San Diego, 24 people recently confirmed with the virus have no travel history and came from 19 different homes.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo identified on Tuesday the New York patient on Monday worked at a jewelry store in Saratoga Springs, which is in its 60s. The man had symptoms of COVID-19, but is ‘recovering’.
He said the state is testing three more possible cases of the strain in Saratoga, taking up to 44 hours to do the genome sequencing to detect the variant.
Much like the first American case of the variant in Colorado, the man had no recent travel history, suggesting an extension of the community.
The CDC believes the strain appeared in Britain in September and said last week that it suspected it had been circulating in the United States for some time.
The strain is believed to be 50 to 70 percent more transmissible, but not more deadly.
The new variant of the virus in the UK is no longer deadly, but about 50% more infectious. This chart from different regions of the UK shows how much more infectious the new super-COVID strain is compared to other virus variants
The Empire State had already become the fourth country to detect the ‘mutant’ variant of the virus.
Cuomo on Tuesday seemed to resist calls from New York Mayor Bill de Blasio to ban all flights from the UK to the United States.
The governor asked the federal government to start mandating tests on all international passengers arriving in the United States, as they are already doing with UK travelers.
De-Blasio had urged the Trump administration to ‘stop madness’ and block all travel to and from Britain to help prevent any further spread of the new superinfectious variant of the virus in the UK.
It is now reported in the UK that about one in 50 residents – or about a million people – now has the coronavirus.
In view of the increase, as of December 28, the CDC began demanding that all airline passengers arriving from Britain – including US citizens – test negative for COVID-19 72 hours before departure. Unless they have two citizens or travel for essential purposes, most Britons are currently prohibited from entering the United States.
The UK is also battling a second mutant strain of the virus, supposedly from South Africa, which experts fear will be resistant to vaccines and potentially more deadly.
This strain has not yet been detected in the United States.
