KENT COUNTY, MI – A case of coronavirus with strain B.1.1.7, which is believed to be more contagious than the primary strain, was found in a Kent County resident.
The variant is approximately 50% more transmissible, leading to a faster spread of the virus and increasing the number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths, the Kent County Health Department said in a press release on Sunday, February 7.
“It is fundamentally a race for the coverage of our population; a race that opposes vaccination efforts against transmission of infections, ”said county health director Dr. Adam London. “While we are working to minimize the impact of COVID-19 infections, variant B.1.1.7 is giving the virus greater speed.”
The health department is encouraging testing of individuals who have traveled outside Michigan in the past 14 days, especially for areas where the new variants are widely circulating.
The first confirmed cases of the variant were confirmed in West Michigan on Thursday in Kalamazoo County.
Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that the variant is in 33 states. Florida registered 187 infections involving B.1.1.7 on Thursday, followed by much more populous California, with 145 infections, according to the CDC.
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