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The state’s first confirmed case of the new, more contagious variant of the coronavirus and a second suspected infection has been discovered in a pair of Colorado National Guard members sent to Elbert County to help with a home outbreak of retirement, officials said Wednesday.
Colorado on Tuesday became the first state to confirm the new variant – known as B.1.1.7 – in the United States. The governor of California announced on Wednesday that his state had also verified its first case involving the rapid strain discovered in the UK.
The two members of the National Guard, who have not been publicly identified, were sent to help staff the Good Samaritan Society nursing home in Simla after an outbreak of COVID-19 in the establishment earlier this month, said Dr. Rachel Herlihy, State. epidemiologist, during a press briefing on Wednesday.
The discovery of the new variant in California was not surprising, as federal and state public health officials said they expected more cases to appear in the United States in the coming days. It is not known how the variant, which spread quickly across the UK, got to the US or how widespread it is.
“We don’t yet have a good idea of its prevalence” in Colorado, Governor Jared Polis said at the press conference.
The first case occurred in a man in his twenties who is isolating himself at his home in Arapahoe County. The suspected person is in segregation at a Lincoln County hotel.
The new variant is believed to be more contagious than previous strains of the coronavirus, but it does not cause more severe symptoms. Moderna and Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccines are also believed to protect against the strain.
Public health and medical experts have said that because the variant was found in a rural county, it is likely that it has been in Colorado for some time, undetected.
As the new variant is considered to be more contagious, there are concerns that it may increase the transmission of the COVID-19 disease in the state. People are encouraged to continue washing their hands, wearing masks and only interacting with members of their household, according to a press release from the governor’s office.
“The worry, of course, is that if it spreads faster and more people have it, even with just the regular rates of hospitalizations, it could be overwhelming for our health systems,” said Dr. Eric France, Chief Medical Officer of the State Department. public health and environment, during the briefing.
Due to fears that the new variant could reach nursing homes and other long-term care facilities in the state, Colorado has asked federal regulators to allow authorities to stop visits to these facilities so that residents can get vaccinated more quickly, Polis said.
The state is investigating whether the two people were infected in the Simla assisted living center or in their daily lives, Herlihy said.
The two National Guard members arrived at the facility on December 23, after the outbreak began, and were tested a day later. To determine if the new variant is circulating in the nursing home, the state sent a team to the facility on Tuesday to collect test samples that were to be processed on Wednesday, Herlihy said.
“So far, based on the tests that have been done at this facility, we have no evidence that the variant virus is circulating in this facility, but testing is ongoing,” she said, adding that more test samples will be tested and collected in the coming days.
All 26 residents of the Good Samaritan Society have tested positive for the novel coronavirus and four have died of the disease. At least 20 of the facility’s 34 employees have also tested positive, Herlihy said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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