New York Governor Cuomo confirms first case of new Covid strain originally found in UK

New York State has confirmed its first case of a new, more contagious variant of the coronavirus initially discovered in the UK, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Monday.

The strain, which has also been found in California, Florida and Colorado, is believed to be more transmissible but does not appear to make people sicker or increase the risk of death from Covid-19, experts have said.

The case was identified in a 60-year-old man from Saratoga County who had no travel history, Cuomo said on a conference call with reporters. The man, who is now recovering, worked at a jewelry store where three other people have also tested positive for Covid-19. The state is investigating whether these cases were caused by the new strain.

Cuomo told reporters that the state has run around 5,000 tests for the new variant, known as B.1.1.7. Cuomo said he thinks it’s “a lot more” common than people already know.

“If other states could test as much as we have tested and tested for the British strain as much as we have tested, they would find them,” Cuomo said, adding that officials have not yet detected a case with the strain in upstate New York.

U.S. health officials said the variant’s arrival in the country was no surprise, although it could make matters worse if allowed to spread unchecked.

While the new variant does not appear to cause more serious illness in those infected and current vaccines should still work against it, it could lead to more hospitalizations due to an increase in cases, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said last week. The United States is also on alert for a second new, highly infectious strain first found in South Africa, similar to that in the United Kingdom, CDC officials said.

“The increase in infection is a problem, but the increase in the hospitalization rate is a game changer because if hospital capacity is threatened in an area, that area will have to shut down,” Cuomo told reporters.

In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Monday that the state has now confirmed six cases of the new variant, all in the southern part of the state. A person from San Diego County was hospitalized, he said.

“We imagine, in fact, that we just have to predict that there will be others identified,” Newsom said at a press briefing.

State officials are expected to provide an update by the end of Tuesday on California genomic testing, which is being conducted to “understand more fully what this strain looks like and what it does.” Newsom said state health officials were leading contract research efforts.

The CDC now requires all air passengers arriving in the United States from the United Kingdom to test negative for Covid-19 within three days of departure.

In the UK on Monday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a new national lockdown order on England until at least mid-February in hopes of slowing the spread of the new variant. He said top doctors in the country estimate the strain to be between 50% and 70% more transmissible compared to previous versions.

“With most countries already under extreme measures, it is clear that we need to do more together to bring this new variant under control while our vaccines are deployed,” Johnson said in a television announcement.

– CNBC Riya Bhattacharjee contributed to this report.