The first known case in the U.S. of a coronavirus variant in Brazil was confirmed on Monday, according to the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH). COVID-19 Brasil P.1 was detected in a person from the Twin Cities area who recently traveled to Brazil, reports CBS Minnesota.
The person became ill during the first week of January and was tested for coronavirus on January 9th.
The case was discovered by the MDH through a random audit that the agency performs weekly. Fifty samples were collected from testing partners, including the clinical laboratories at the University of Minnesota and the Infinity Biologix Laboratory in Oakdale.
Minnesota Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm emphasized the importance of the testing program and also why it is important to limit the spread of COVID-19.
“The fewer people receiving COVID-19, the fewer opportunities the virus will have to evolve,” said Malcolm in a statement. “The good news is that we can slow the spread of this variant and all variants of COVID-19 using the tried and tested prevention methods of wearing masks, maintaining social distance, staying at home when you’re sick and taking the test when appropriate. “
According to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Brazilian variant “was first identified in four travelers from Brazil, who were tested during routine screening at Haneda Airport outside Tokyo, Japan”.
An additional variant, known as variant B 1.1.7 or variant of the United Kingdom, has also been detected in several countries, including the USA and Canada. A South African variant known as 1,351 has not yet been detected in the US
The United States marked a dark milestone earlier this week, when COVID-19 cases exceeded 25 million, according to data reported by Johns Hopkins University. Globally, 99 million cases have been reported.
Nearly 421,000 people died of COVID-19 in the United States, while more than 2.1 million people died worldwide from COVID-19.