EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WEAU, WMTV) – The Eau Claire City-County Department of Health said it found that a resident of Eau Claire had confirmed it had the new strain COVID-19, adding that they discovered this information on Wednesday.
The health department confirmed that the person traveled internationally and only had close family contacts. The individual tested positive in late December and completed the complete isolation period. They were also never hospitalized.
Health officials add that this case is not expected to induce the spread of the community while the person is quarantined.
The variant strain does not seem to make people sicker, but it spreads faster, added director Lieske Giese. It is not known to have a higher mortality rate or more severe symptoms.
Prevea doctor Ken Johnson says that, in terms of testing more people for the new strain, health officials know the new strain is circulating, but the way out of this pandemic is to act if the strain is somewhere. He also added that this new strain is unlikely to be resistant to the vaccine.
“Typically, the vaccine targets several proteins, not just one, and it is highly unlikely that this variant will not be covered by the vaccine,” he said.
Giese asks people to continue taking the test, continue to stand two meters away from others and wear a mask.
Johnson said it is important that people do not let their guard down in the fight against the virus.
The new coronavirus variant originally found in wide circulation in England arrived in Wisconsin. Health officials say the new strain was found in Eau Claire County.
The Department of Health Services said it confirmed that the variant, which appears to spread faster and faster than the current strain, was here on Tuesday.
He noted that, although apparently more contagious, the new strain does not appear to be more deadly or to cause more severe COVID-19 symptoms.
“We already know that COVID-19 is easily transmitted through respiratory droplets and, with this new variant looking even more infectious, taking preventive measures like wearing a mask and moving away physically are even more important,” said the DHS designated secretary. , Andrea Palm. .
Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway had previously warned that the variant was probably already in the state after it was confirmed in neighboring Minnesota. DHS Medical Director Dr. Ryan Westergaard noted that virus mutations are “very common” and that variants of the coronavirus were expected.
“As time passes in the pandemic and the virus continues to replicate on a large scale, the virus’s genetic sequence changes,” he said.
Westergaard also said that his biggest fear is that the new strain would lead to an increase in cases, which could overwhelm hospitals.
“If there are many more infections in general, even if the risk of serious illness for any infection is the same, this will translate into more serious infections and more hospitalizations. So this is how they pose a really important threat to public health that we must take seriously, ”he said.
The mutated strain was discovered with the help of laboratory partners, explained DHS, through continuous surveillance and sequencing of the complete genome.
Giese said the person who tested positive for the variant strain originally tested positive for the virus in late December 2020. She said that that person and his close contacts quarantined after diagnosis, he does not expect the case to create a spread. in the community.
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