COVID-19 in Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania reports first confirmed case of novel variant coronavirus in Dauphin County

HARRISBURG, Pa .– Health officials on Thursday announced the first confirmed case of the new, more contagious variant of COVID-19 in Pennsylvania.

Health Secretary Dr Rachel Levine said a person in Dauphin County tested positive after known international exposure. This variant is the same one discovered for the first time in England in December.

British scientists said there was no evidence that it causes more serious disease, but that it could be spread more easily.

The individual was exhibiting mild symptoms, which have since been resolved as they completed their home isolation, officials said.

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Pennsylvania has prepared for this variant by working closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and has sent 10-35 random samples every two weeks to the CDC since November to study the sequencing and detect any cases. potential for this new COVID-19 variant, ”Levine said. “Public health experts are in the early stages of working to better understand this new variant, how it is spread and how it affects people who are infected with it.”

To date, there have been 609,905 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state and 16,914 Pennsylvanians have died from the virus.

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