New Jersey recorded its first death from the highly contagious variant of COVID-19 in the United Kingdom.
The unidentified resident succumbed to the virus on Wednesday, state health commissioner Judith Persichilli confirmed at a news conference.
The victim had ‘significant underlying health conditions’, but had no history of international travel. His age was not disclosed.
The British variant of the coronavirus, known as B 1.1.7 and dubbed ‘Super-COVID’, is feared to be up to 70% more transmissible than the general coronavirus strain.
On Wednesday, six new cases of Super-COVID were confirmed in New Jersey, with the ages of the positive tests ranging from 10 to 65 years. Only one recently traveled abroad. The New Jersey Department of Health did not disclose which country the person traveled to.
There are now at least 329 confirmed cases of Super-COVID in the United States, including at least 92 in California and Florida, respectively.
Initially, the mutation was simply feared because it was more contagious than the common COVID-19 infection. However, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said last week that he now fears it could also be 30% more deadly.
Dr. Anthony Fauci echoed the same sentiment last Wednesday, when he told NBC’s Today program: ‘I am convinced that there is a degree of increase in the severity of the actual infection that we really have to keep an eye on.’
Earlier this month, a 40-year-old woman in Texas died of the Super-COVID strain a few days after being admitted to the hospital.
New Jersey recorded its first death from the highly contagious variant of COVID-19 in the United Kingdom. A patient is photographed being treated for the disease at a New Jersey hospital earlier this month
New York confirmed at least 22 cases of the variant, with Governor Andrew Cuomo expressing frustration at not knowing more about what is deadly.
Super-COVID is one of several new strains of coronavirus detected in recent weeks.
At least two domestic US variants have been confirmed in Ohio, while another has been detected in Illinois.
Another mutation first detected in Brazil, known as E484K, was also detected off the coast of the United States. In addition, a variant known as 1452R, first seen in Denmark, accounts for up to 50 percent of cases in California.
On Thursday, a highly contagious strain originating in South Africa was confirmed in the United States for the first time.
Two people in South Carolina tested positive for the mutation – known as B. 1,351 varian – despite not having traveled abroad. This has raised fears that the strain is already spreading widely in the community.
“We don’t know exactly what’s going on with the new varieties,” Governor Cuomo told reporters during a news conference on Wednesday.
‘The concept of not knowing is very worrying to me.’
A drive-thru coronavirus test site is seen in Paramus, New Jersey. Six additional Super-COVID cases confirmed at Garden State on Wednesday
At the moment, it is believed that the COVID-19 vaccines produced by Pfizer and Morderna will still be effective in the short term against confirmed mutations in the USA.
Scientists are now scrambling to invent “booster vaccines” amid fears that the mutations could diminish the vaccine-induced antibodies’ ability to neutralize the coronavirus.
President Biden has temporarily banned flights from South Africa and has again imposed restrictions on those entering the United States from the UK after Donald Trump promised to suspend them during his last days in office.
‘I have decided that it is in the interests of the United States to take measures to restrict and suspend the entry into the United States, as immigrants or non-immigrants, of non-citizens of the United States (“non-citizens”) who were physically present in the Schengen Area (of Europe) , the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Federative Republic of Brazil and the Republic of South Africa during the 14-day period prior to their entry or attempted entry into the United States, ‘said Biden.
In a separate executive order, Biden stated that travelers from all other countries arriving in the U.S. must be “required to provide proof of a recent negative COVID-19 test prior to entry” and “required to comply with other applicable US guidelines. CDC, including recommended periods of self-quarantine or self-isolation after entry ‘.
Meanwhile, the CDC is now “actively seeking” new measures for Americans flying between states, as the number of coronavirus cases remains stubbornly high.
A new proposal states that travelers would have to have a negative COVID-19 test before boarding planes with domestic flights.
This occurs while the distribution of vaccines in the country remains delayed.
Vaccination started five weeks ago, but only 6.2% of the population in the United States received the first doses of Pfizer or Moderna two-dose vaccines. There are about 20.7 million with at least one dose of the vaccine.
About 3.8 million people have been fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
As of Friday, 25.5 million Americans tested positive for COVID-19 and more than 429,000 died.
President Biden predicts that the death toll will increase to more than half a million deaths next month.
Early Wednesday, drivers were seen waiting in line at the mega vaccination station COVID-19, which was set up in the parking lot of Dodger Stadium
