Another case of the more contagious COVID-19 variant has been found in Nassau County, as the CDC says it is likely to occur across the country in the coming months.
Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Friday that the statewide total confirmed for the variant is 16, including an additional case in Nassau.
“A bigger infection with this variant puts more people in the hospital, makes the team more stressful”, says Cuomo. “The UK variant could make more doctors and nurses sick – reducing staff. It is a dangerous situation we are in ”.
The variant, known as B.1.1.7, infected at least 76 people in 12 states. It is estimated to be about 50% more transmissible than the most common strain. The CDC issued the warning that the mutation may be prevalent in March.
CDC models project that the variant may see “rapid growth” in the coming months, putting even more pressure on the health care system.
“We are already battling a very high number of viruses in all of our communities,” said Dr. David Hirschwerk of Northwell Health. “Hospitalizations are at very high levels and the mortality rate continues to rise and at very high levels. And that is without having this new variant, at least as we know, infiltrating strongly in our area at this time.”
Medical experts say the increased contagiousness of the UK variant means the United States must double its mitigation methods to help prevent the virus from spreading.
“It becomes even more important that we are masking, that we are physically distancing and avoiding crowds, especially indoors,” says Hirschwerk.