Editor’s note: This story has been updated because the 63,080 doses of vaccine administered on Friday are not a one-day record, as IDPH reported on Saturday; IDPH on Friday reported that 74,965 doses were administered the day before.
The most contagious COVID-19 variant found for the first time in the UK appeared in Lake County, health officials said on Saturday.
“Although new cases of COVID-19 have declined since January, the emergence of this new variant here in Lake County underscores the importance of remaining vigilant,” said Mark Pfister, executive director of the Lake County Department of Health, in a statement to the press.
“We should all continue to follow the precautions of wearing masks, washing our hands, keeping 6 feet away from others and avoiding crowds and poorly ventilated spaces to limit the spread of the virus,” he said.
The person who contracted variant B.1.1.7 traveled internationally and was in contact with a sick person before returning to the United States in late December, Pfister said.
Upon returning to Lake County, the person was quarantined and tested. The person had no symptoms of COVID-19.
The federal website for the Centers for Disease Control states that 17 cases of the variant have been identified in Illinois.
Viruses are constantly changing and new variants are expected, the health department said. In addition to variant B.1.1.7, variant 1,351 in South Africa and variant P.1 in Brazil have recently emerged.
“We hope to see more cases of these new variants in Lake County as they appear to spread more easily and quickly than other variants,” said Dr. Sana Ahmed, a medical epidemiologist in the Lake County Health Department, in the press release. “It is extremely important that you follow the quarantine recommendations and take the test if you have traveled or been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. Answer the call for contact trackers to help us protect our communities.”
Studies suggest that the currently available COVID-19 vaccines will be effective against the new strains.
The Illinois Department of Public Health reported that on Friday, 63,080 doses were administered. The 7-day moving average of vaccines administered daily is 49,909 doses.
In total, 1,294,498 vaccines were administered by Friday night, of 2,132,025 already delivered, IDPH said.
The state also notified 3,062 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus disease and 60 additional deaths. The numbers are almost at the same level as those reported in the past few days. Among those killed are 19 people in Cook County, five in DuPage County, three in Kane County, one in Lake County, one in McHenry County and two in Will County.
The statewide seven-day preliminary positivity for cases as a percentage of the total test results from January 30 to February 5 is 3.4%.
On Friday night, 2,271 individuals in Illinois reported being in the hospital with COVID-19. Of these, 485 patients were in the ICU and 246 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators.
For more information on COVID-19 variants, go to cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/transmission/variant.html.