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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday plunged the UK into a new national lockdown until at least mid-February to tackle the super-infectious mutant coronavirus which is already spreading across the United States.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has plunged England into a new national lockdown until at least mid-February to fight the super-infectious mutant coronavirus which is already spreading across the United States.
Johnson on Monday ordered people to stay at home again, as they were ordered to do during the first wave of the pandemic in March, as the new variant of the virus was spreading in “ frustrating and alarming ” ways.
Schools and non-essential businesses have also been ordered to shut down after the UK battled an alarming rise in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks, which officials blamed on the mutation which is more contagious than the existing variants.
The mutant strain currently plaguing the UK has already been detected in ten people in four states: New York, California, Colorado and Florida.
Health officials do not yet know how widespread the British strain is in the United States, but some fear it may have started to spread in October.
The United States on Monday recorded 210,479 new cases and 1,394 additional deaths from COVID-19.
British health authorities have recorded more than 50,000 new infections per day since crossing this milestone for the first time on December 29. The UK reported 407 virus-related deaths on Monday.
The UK currently has more cases and deaths per million people than the US.
The mutant strain currently plaguing the UK has already been detected in New York, California, Colorado and Florida. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday announced his state had found its first case of the most contagious UK strain
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday announced his state had discovered its first case of the most contagious British strain, raising concerns over threats to hospital capacity if it spread quickly in the former state epicenter.
He said a man in his 60s, who lives in a town north of Albany, was recovering from the new strain. The man had not traveled recently, which suggests community spread.
New York has performed 5,000 tests for the new strain – and has so far found only one case. Cuomo said it could be a game-changer if the new strain increases hospitalizations and forces regions to shut down.
The first case of the British strain was detected last week at a nursing home in a remote Colorado town where a National Guard member in his 20s, who had been assigned to help in the facility, was tested positive.
The strain was then found in California and Florida before being detected in New York on Monday.
The discovery of the new variant led the CDC to issue new rules on Christmas Day for travelers arriving in the United States from the United Kingdom, requiring that they show proof of a negative COVID-19 test.
British scientists believe the variant is more contagious than the strains previously identified.
The cases have raised questions about how the version circulating in England got to the United States and if it is too late to stop it now, with top experts saying it is probably already spreading elsewhere in the country. .
Health experts have warned that the new strain could have started to spread in the United States as early as October.
The United States recorded 210,479 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday
British health authorities have recorded more than 50,000 new infections per day since crossing this milestone for the first time on December 29
The UK currently has more infections and deaths per million people than the US
Dr Ali Mokdad, of the Institute for Health Metrics & Evaluation at the University of Washington, said it was a ‘race against time’ to detect and stop the spread of the new variant – especially since the cases detected so far have not been linked to travel.
“It means that someone else in Colorado introduced this mutation and this person had it. So it’s a little scarier than expected, because it means there is already some circulation of this virus, ” he told King5.
“In the United States, we need to monitor the genetic typing of this virus, and we need to stay current, not only in the United States but elsewhere as well.
Dr Anthony Fauci has previously said it is ‘inevitable’ that the British strain will spread to the United States.
“Obviously, we don’t want to see a virus that has a greater ability to spread,” he told NBC’s Today.
“ The good news is that it doesn’t seem … to make people sicker and lead to more deaths. The other thing which is important and favorable, it does not seem to escape the protection offered by the vaccines currently in use.
Fear has been growing about the variant since the weekend before Christmas, when UK authorities first revealed that tension was spreading rapidly in the UK.
South Africa has also discovered a highly contagious variant of COVID-19, which was also detected in the UK before Christmas.
So far, no case of the South African variant has been detected in the United States.
Under the UK’s new strict lockdown rules, which took effect immediately, elementary and secondary schools and colleges will be closed for face-to-face learning, with the exception of children of key workers and pupils vulnerable.
University students won’t be returning until at least mid-February.
All non-essential stores, personal care services like hairdressers and gyms will also be closed. Restaurants can only operate take-out services.
News of the new strict lockdown in the UK came the day British health officials began arming the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine across the country, fueling hopes that life could return to normal in the spring.
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