The first case of the COVID-19 variant was identified in Lake County, health officials announced on Saturday.
The Lake County Health Department reported the first case of coronavirus variant B.1.1.7, which is the most common strain in the UK in recent months.
The individual infected with the variant traveled internationally and was in contact with a sick person before returning to the United States in late December, health officials said.
According to the secretary, the individual did not show symptoms of the coronavirus.
“We hope to see more cases of these new variants in Lake County, as they appear to spread more easily and quickly than other variants,” said Dr. Sana Ahmed, Medical Epidemiologist at LCHD. “It is extremely important that you follow the quarantine recommendations and take the test if you have traveled or been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.”
Health officials recalled that studies suggest that the currently available COVID-19 vaccine is effective against new strains.
In Illinois, the first known case of the most contagious strain was announced by health officials on Friday, January 15.
An investigation by the Chicago Department of Public Health found that the individual had traveled to the UK and the Middle East in the 14 days prior to diagnosis, officials said, noting that the department had worked to identify the person’s close contacts to alert him them about quarantine and isolation.
While there is still a lot of uncertainty about the new variant COVID-19 discovered for the first time in the UK, the Illinois chief physician said on Friday that enough is known that people can take precautions.
“… If something is more communicable, it suggests that we need to reduce mask use,” said Dr. Ngozi Ezike, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health on Friday, when she also emphasized social detachment and washing of the hands. “Like all the things we’ve said … the message doesn’t really change, it just means that now it’s more important than ever to stick to them [mitigations]. ”
A UK scientist has revealed that some evidence suggests that the strain carries a greater risk of death than the original strain, although he warned that the data is uncertain.
Patrick Vallance, the British government’s chief scientific adviser, said that for a 60-year-old man with the original version of the virus, “the average risk is that for 1,000 infected people, about 10 are expected to die unfortunately.”
“With the new variant, for 1,000 infected people, about 13 or 14 people are expected to die,” he said.
At a press conference on the coronavirus on Friday, both Ezike and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said the mitigations could be increased across the state if there were widespread reports of the new variant.
“If we see an increase in terms of the UK variant, we know that it starts to multiply very quickly as it takes a significant stance,” said Ezike. “We know that the numbers are now very, very low. But that could change …”
The doctor had already warned that the newly discovered strain could be dominant as early as March.
The British variant was first detected in September, World Health Organization officials previously announced. Since then, cases have skyrocketed across the UK, resulting in Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s decision to impose a national blockade.
The UK variant is one of two new contagious viral strains that have recently emerged, the CDC said in telebriefing late last month.