According to the Governor, The new mutated strain of COVID-19 that was recently discovered in the United Kingdom was found in a Colorado resident with no travel history, officials confirmed Tuesday. Daily Wire reported
“Today we discovered Colorado’s first case of the COVID-19 variant B.1.1.7, the same variant discovered in the UK,” tweeted Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Tuesday evening. “The health and safety of Coloradans is our top priority and we will monitor this case, as well as all COVID-19 indicators, very closely.”
Today we discovered Colorado’s first case of the COVID-19 variant B.1.1.7, the same variant discovered in the UK.
The health and safety of Coloradans is our top priority and we will monitor this case, as well as all COVID-19 indicators, very closely. pic.twitter.com/fjyq7QhzBi
— Governor Jared Polis (@GovofCO) December 29, 2020
“There is a lot we don’t know about this new COVID-19 variant, but scientists in the United Kingdom are warning the world that it is significantly more contagious. The health and safety of Coloradans is our top priority and we will closely monitor this case, as well as all COVID-19 indicators, very closely. We are working to prevent spread and contain the virus at all levels,” Polis said. “I want to thank our scientists and dedicated medical professionals for their swift work and ask Coloradans to continue our efforts to prevent disease transmission by wearing masks, standing six feet apart when gathering with others, and only interacting with members of their immediate household.”
The new strain that arrears to be more contagious has caused Great Britain to lock down parts of the country and forced over 40 countries to restrict travel to the UK
“The fact that Colorado has detected this variant first in the nation is a testament to the sophistication of Colorado’s response and the talent of CDPHE’s scientist and lab operations,” said Jill Hunsaker Ryan, who is the executive director of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. “We are currently using all the tools available to protect public health and mitigate the spread of this variant.”
Last week Dr. Fauci said that the new strain was likely already in the country.
“When you see something that is pretty prevalent in a place like the U.K. — there are also mutations that we’re seeing in South Africa — and given the travel throughout the world, I would not be surprised if it is already here,” Fauci said Monday on “PBS NewsHour.”
“When we start to look for it, we’re going to find it,” he said, adding that “you have to make that assumption” that the new U.K. strain is already here. “Certainly, it is not yet the prevalent one, the way it seems to have assumed that prevalent nature in the UK,” said Fauci, an immunologist and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases who served on the White House Coronavirus Task Force.
“But we’re going to be looking for it right now, and I’m sure, sooner or later, we’re going to run into it and find it,” Fauci said.
