First Known Case Of COVID-19 Variant Reported In The United States

DENVER – The United States is now confirming the first case of the new COVID-19 variant, first discovered in the United Kingdom and thought to be highly-contagious.

Colorado Governor Jared Polis announced this week that a man in his 20s with no travel history is the first known case. The man is now in isolation outside of Denver.

The Governor says no close contacts of the man have been identified yet, but health officials are working on contact tracing.

A medical doctor and member of the Biden-Harris Transition COVID Advisory Board says the variant is “almost certainly in multiple states.”

First detected in the U.K., as of Tuesday, at least 26 countries and Hong Kong have reported cases of the new Coronavirus strain.

But it’s important to note, preliminary results from a Cohort U.K. study indicates there is no reason to believe the variant causes more severe disease.

Other medical experts say it appears the new vaccines should be effective against the variant.