TOMPKINS COUNTY, NY – The Tompkins County Health Department announced that three more people had tested positive for the variant of COVID-19 in the UK, a more contagious version, but (as far as the evidence shows) no longer lethal from the coronavirus.
These three are in addition to the first case of the UK variant in the county, which was found in mid-January. The three new people who tested positive for the variant were placed in isolation. The first case in the state of New York was discovered on January 4, 2021.
The health department said one case was tracked for travel and the other two are home contacts for that case. Public Health Director Frank Kruppa said the department is confident that they have been able to contain the spread, hopefully for these three cases.
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“The cases were sequenced through Cornell University’s COVID-19 testing laboratory as part of that laboratory’s testing services for the Cayuga Health System and the region, “according to the department’s announcement. Test results for the first identified case were sequenced for the strain caused by an individual indicating that they had relevant international travels. Nearby contacts were subsequently tested and their results sequenced. Test results are sequenced in cases of relevant travel or close contact with another individual with the variant. New York and New York State Department of Health regional office The York State Wadsworth Public Health Laboratory has been notified of the results. “