Colorado has confirmed the first known U.S. case of a new coronavirus strain that was first identified in the United Kingdom.
“Today we discovered Colorado’s first case of the COVID-19 variant B.1.1.7, the same variant discovered in the U.K.,” Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said on Twitter Tuesday afternoon. “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.”
The Colorado state laboratory confirmed the case and notified the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the governor’s office said in a statement. The patient is a man in his 20s who is recovering in isolationin Elbert County, outside Denver. He has no travel history and no close contacts. Public health officials were conducting an investigation. strain that was first identified in the United Kingdom.
“Today we discovered Colorado’s first case of the COVID-19 variant B.1.1.7, the same variant discovered in the U.K.,” Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said on Twitter Tuesday afternoon. “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.”
The Colorado state laboratory confirmed the case and notified the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the governor’s office said in a statement. The patient is a man in his 20s who is recovering in isolationin Elbert County, outside Denver. He has no travel history and no close contacts. Public health officials were conducting an investigation.
It was first spotted in September in southeastern England. The new variant accounted for a quarter of cases in London by November. By the week of Dec. 9, it was responsible for 60% of cases in the city. London and large areas of southern England are under lockdown measures, and dozens of nations have banned travel from the U.K.
The strain has also been identified in France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Canada, Australia, Japan, Singapore, India, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates. South Africa has identified a strain similar to the one first identified in the U.K., but it emerged independently of the U.K. strain and is not related to it, according to the CDC.
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