Florida reported finding evidence of a COVID-19 variant first seen in Britain.
More contagious version hits as infections surging
MIAMI — Florida health authorities late Thursday reported finding evidence of the latest U.S. case of the new and apparently more contagious coronavirus strain first seen in England, saying it was detected in a man with no recent travel history.
The case, disclosed in a Florida Health Department statement tweeted on its Healthyfla site, comes after reports in recent days of multiple individual cases of the United Kingdom strain of COVID-19 discovered in Colorado and California.
Florida’s health statement said the new variant was detected in a man in his 20s in Martin County, which abuts the Atlantic Coast above densely populated South Florida.
It said its experts were working with the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control on investigating the case.
California on Wednesday became the second state to confirm a case of the new virus strain. The announcement came 24 hours after word of the first reported U.S. variant infection, which emerged in Colorado — in a Colorado National Guardsman who had been sent to help out at a nursing home struggling with an outbreak.
Scientists in the U.K. believe the variant is more contagious than previously identified strains. The cases have triggered questions about how the version circulating in England arrived in the U.S. and whether it is too late to stop it now, with top experts saying it is probably already spreading elsewhere in the United States.
The Florida Health Department also tweeted late Thursday that experts expect little to no impact on the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccinations being rolled out in a state grappling with overwhelming demand for the vaccines from its large senior population.
Also Thursday, state officials reported the highest daily jump in COVID-19 cases ever detected in Florida. The state’s Department of Health reported 17,192 new cases and 133 new deaths, raising the toll to 21,857.
Florida Gov. Ron Desantis has said that people 65 and older — more than 4 million of Florida’s 21 million population — would be prioritized over essential workers to receive the vaccine. But hospitals and health departments have been struggling to keep up with the demand.
People have clogged hotlines to book appointments, and some seniors have camped out overnight outside vaccination sites, leading some hospitals to hit pause on scheduling further shots.