US register its first case of New Variant of COVID from a patient with no travel history
United Stated: The year 2020 has surely come to an end but it seems like the coronavirus is not done yet.
Days after the reports came of the discovery of the new variant of the coronavirus in the United Kingdom, which was construed to be “out of control”, the new variant has started knocking doors of other world countries.
On December 29, 2020, the first case of the new variant was reported in the United States. A 20-something man from Colorado has been declared as the first American to be infected with a new variant of coronavirus that emerged this fall in the United Kingdom. This has raised concerns that a more transmissible strain could spread widely across the country. The individual is currently in isolation in Elbert County, located halfway between Denver and Colorado Springs.
The news was put out by the Colorado State Laboratory confirming that the patient had the mutated form of the virus, known as B.1.1.7. The State Laboratory has informed the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Colorado Governor Jared Polis said in a statement on Twitter.
The strangest part of this discovery that is shocking the scientists and virologists is that the man has no recent travel history. And this has made it more challenging for the health officials to find the possible source of infection and identify others who may be at risk.
“There is a lot we don’t know about this new Covid variant, but scientists in the United Kingdom are warning the world that it is significantly more contagious,” Polis said in the statement. “The health and safety of Coloradans is our top priority and we will closely monitor this case, as well as all Covid-19 indicators.
The New Variant and India
Talking about India, as on December 30, a total of 20 people who returned to India from the United Kingdom have tested positive for the new coronavirus variant so far. In order to do contact tracing, the Union Health Ministry has said that all the international passengers who arrived in India during last 14 days before the travel ban to the United Kingdom and were tested positive for Covid-19, will be subjected to genome sequencing.
The Indian government on Wednesday extended the suspension of flights to and from the United Kingdom till January 7, earlier it was till December 31, amid alarm over the new highly contagious strain of the coronavirus.
Hardeep Singh, the Aviation Minister, tweeted "Decision has been taken to extend the temporary suspension of flights to and from the United Kingdom till 7 January 2021. Thereafter strictly regulated resumption will take place for which details will be announced shortly."
Other countries which have reported the existence of the new coronavirus strain – Netherlands, Australia, Denmark, Italy, Sweden, France, Germany, Canada and Japan.
Some relief so far
The British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that the new SARS-CoV-2 variant could be as much as 70 per cent more transmissible. However, it has been established that it is not yet known if the mutation causes a more severe version of the disease.
There is no evidence to suggest that current vaccines will fail to protect against the SARS-CoV-2 mutants reported from the United Kingdom or South Africa, the government said.
