US detects first known case of UK's coronavirus variant in Colorado

Marking the first case of COVID-19 variant in the United States, a man in western state of Colorado tested positive on December 29 (local time). The mutant virus named B.1.1.7 was detected in the UK earlier this month and since then has spread to multiple countries including India. Confirming the infection in the state, Governor Jared Polis published a statement online revealing that the patient was male “in his 20s” with no travel history. He added that the patient was currently isolated in Elbert County.  

The statement also revealed that the individual had no close contacts but the overall situation would be “monitored very closely”. It added that public health officials in the state were working to identify other potential cases and contacts through “thorough” contact tracing interviews. Concluding the statement, the Governor warned Coloradans to continue their efforts in preventing the disease and follow precautionary measures including regular hand washing, public  distance amongst others.

Experts have confirmed that this is the first case of the new variant in the US making it the second country on the continent to have been infected by B.1.1.7. Previously, the cases of the new variant were reported in Canada. Meanwhile, Colorado with over 328,408 cases remains devastated by the health crisis.

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About the new virus strain

The new variant of the novel coronavirus has been flagged for spreading rapidly across the UK. Even though it is a well-known fact that viruses mutate all the time and some of them even die out, it is a very rare occasion when the new strains trigger dramatic changes. However, with over 1,000 cases of the variant discovered in the UK, scientists are puzzled to determine if the variant, reportedly named as VUI-202012/01 falls into which category or if it represents an increased health risk especially when some nations began administering the COVID-19 vaccines among people. 

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