New COVID-19 variant found in Florida, marking the nations 3rd confirmed case – WFLA

TAMPA (WFLA) A case of the new coronavirus strain that spread quickly in the United Kingdomhas been confirmedin Florida.

The Florida Department of Health announced on Twitter Thursday that the individual is a man in his 20s who is currently in isolation in Martin County. The department noted the man has no travel history.

Florida has evidence of the first identified case of the UK COVID-19 variant in Martin County. The individual is a male in his 20s with no history of travel. The Department is working with the CDC on this investigation. We encourage all to continue practicing COVID-19 mitigation.

The Department of Health is working with the CDC on this investigation.

The news comes after Colorado health officials announced earlier this week the first person in the U.S. known to be infected with the new and apparently more contagious variant. That individual was identified as a Colorado National Guardsman who had been sent to help out at a nursing home struggling with an outbreak. Health officials said Wednesday a second Guard member may have it, too.

California officials also confirmed later Wednesday that a San Diego County man has Californias first confirmed case of a new variant of the coronavirus.

The cases have triggered a host of questions about how the mutant 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 virus is becoming more fit, and were like a deer in the headlights, warned Dr. Eric Topol, head of Scripps Research Translational Institute. He noted that the U.S. does far less genetic sequencing of virus samples to discover variants than other developed nations do, and thus was probably slow to detect this new mutation.

The case in Florida comes as the state on Thursday saw the largest single-day jump in new COVID-19 cases since the beginning of the pandemic. Florida has more than 1.3 million confirmed cases of coronavirus and more than 21,500 deaths according todata complied by Johns Hopkins University.

On New Years Eve crowds of people in downtown Tampa celebrated by gathering in large crowds, most people not wearing or being lax about wearing masks in public. Its easy to see why health officials are concerned to now have a strain of the virus that spreads even quicker.

I mean obviously, we dont wanna see a virus that has a greater capability of spreading. The other thing that is important and a favorable thing, it does not seem to evade the protection thats afforded by vaccines that are currently being used, said Dr. Fauci.

The best way to fight this new strain to wash your hands, wear masks, and practice social distancing.

LATEST ON THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC:

Read more:

New COVID-19 variant found in Florida, marking the nations 3rd confirmed case - WFLA