Virus variant from South Africa in US
A new coronavirus variant identified in South Africa has been found in the United States for the first time, with two cases diagnosed in South Carolina, state health officials said Thursday.
The cases were discovered in adults in different regions of the state and do not appear to be connected. Neither of the people infected has traveled recently, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control said.
“That’s frightening” because it means there could be more undetected cases, said Dr. Krutika Kuppalli, an infectious diseases physician at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. “It’s probably more widespread.”
The arrival of the variant shows that “the fight against this deadly virus is far from over,” said Dr. Brannon Traxler, South Carolina’s interim public health director.
In other developments:
COVID-19 deaths of nursing home residents in New York have been undercounted by about 50% as poor infection-control practices and understaffing fuel the coronavirus crisis, state Attorney General Letitia James reported Thursday.
An investigation found the state Department of Health’s controversial policy to publicly report COVID-19 deaths
of residents only inside nursing homes and withhold deaths of residents transferred to hospitals hindered attempts to understand the scope of the crisis and improve conditions inside the facilities.
The true COVID-19 death toll of nursing home residents is closer to 13,000, as opposed to the 8,677 reported to date by the Health Department, according to the investigation’s findings.
● Nine Roman Catholic nuns in southern Michigan have died this month due to a COVID-19 outbreak at their retirement home, which had gone for months without a single case, a spokeswoman said Thursday. The women lived at the campus of the Adrian
Dominican Sisters in Adrian, 75 miles southwest of Detroit.
COVID-19 has been cited in the deaths of dozens of retired or infirm nuns who lived in congregate settings in the U.S. Eight nuns in suburban Milwaukee died of virus complications in one week in December.
● As the variants bring a potential for greater infection risks in the U.S., pandemic-weary lawmakers in several states are pushing back against mask mandates and other protective restrictions ordered by governors.
States including Arizona, Michigan, Ohio, Maryland, Kentucky and Indiana are weighing proposals to limit their governors’ abilities to impose emergency restrictions. The Wisconsin Legislature was expected to vote on repealing the governor’s mask mandate. Pennsylvania lawmakers are considering a constitutional amendment to strip the governor of many of his emergency powers. Governors argue they need authority to act swiftly in a crisis, and limitations could slow critical emergency responses.
● Nebraska could soon eliminate all of its virus-related restrictions on gatherings if the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 continues to decline, even though few people in the state have been vaccinated.