A contagious strain of coronavirus that quickly spread across the UK is officially in Oregon, worrying public health officials.
The Oregon Health Authority announced on Friday that a resident of Multnomah County with no known travel history tested positive for the variant, known as B.1.1.7. Before the Oregon case, there were only 88 known infections in 15 states.
Federal officials say the strain is much more transmissible and is likely to constitute most infections in the U.S. by March. Although there is no evidence that the strain is more serious or deadly, its ability to pass more easily means that more people can be infected and die during the pandemic.
“Detecting the first case of this variant strain is a concern and we have been monitoring the movement of this strain,” said Dr. Dean Sidelinger, state health officer and epidemiologist, in a statement.
The Oregon Health Authority said public health officials in Multnomah County are working Friday night and over the weekend to track down infection-related contacts.
“Confirming this strain locally is distressing,” said Dr. Jennifer Vines, health officer for Multnomah County, in a statement. “Until we have enough vaccine, we must continue to wear masks, distancing and limiting our social interactions.”
Oregon was one of the first states to identify its first coronavirus case in February 2020 and did relatively well during the pandemic, reporting fewer cases and deaths per capita than just a handful of states.
It is unclear how state officials knew or confirmed the arrival of the new strain, as only a few tests for coronavirus look for variants in the virus. It is also not immediately known how many Oregon residents who tested positive were examined for the variant.
Oregon saw a considerable decline in testing this month, with public health officials focusing on vaccinating as many people as quickly as possible.
– Brad Schmidt; [email protected]; 503-294-7628; @_brad_schmidt