First U.S. case of highly contagious coronavirus variant is found in Colorado

A highly contagious coronavirus variant first identified in Britain has been detected in Colorado, according to Gov. Jared Polis. The first U.S. case of the variant was found in a man in his 20s with no travel history, Polis said. That individual is in isolation in Elbert County, located southeast of Denver. William Hanage, an epidemiologist at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said the new case “should not be cause for panic,” but added “it is cause to redouble our efforts at preventing the virus from getting the opportunity to spread.” There is no indication thus far the B117 variant is more likely to lead to a severe case of COVID-19, increase the likelihood of death, or evade the new vaccines. “There is a lot we don’t know about this new COVID-19 variant, but scientists in the United Kingdom are warning the world that it is significantly more contagious,” Gov. Polis said. CDC said Tuesday it expects “there will be additional cases that are likely to be detected in the coming days.” It is not yet clear where the new variant arose, nor why it transmits more easily. The earliest British samples of B117 date back to September, and cases of the variant have been detected in more than 12 countries worldwide.