More infectious variant of COVID-19 found in Florida: state officials

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Hundreds of people line up at Lakes Park Regional Library to receive COVID-19 vaccine in Fort Myers

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A more infectious variant of COVID-19 that has swept across the UK has been identified in Florida, public health officials said Thursday, marking the third known US state to identify such a case.

The Florida Department of Health said the case involved a man in his twenties in Martin County with no travel history. Two more cases involving the British variant have been identified in Colorado and California.

“The Department is working with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on this investigation,” he tweeted.

Video: The first cases of a new strain of Covid have been identified in the United States – Here’s what we know so far (CNBC)

The first cases of a new strain of Covid have been identified in the United States – Here’s what we know so far

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California Governor Gavin Newsom said on Wednesday that the B.1.1.7 variant of the coronavirus had been identified in southern California.

A day earlier Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said the variant had been identified there, while another state health official said a possible second case was under investigation .

The cases, found in people who have not traveled recently, have shown the likely spread of the variant in the person-to-person community in the United States. Health experts said they believe the new variant is more infectious, but recently approved vaccines should offer protection against it.

(Reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Neil Fullick)