ELBERT COUNTY, Colo. — Governor Jared Polis announced Tuesday, December 29 that the COVID-19 "variant," or new version of the virus, that was first discovered in the United Kingdom has arrived in Colorado.
It is the first confirmed case of the variant in the United States.
The affected individual is a man in his 20s who lives in Elbert County, according to a news release from the governor's office. The man has no recent travel history.
Today we discovered Colorado’s first case of the COVID-19 variant B.1.1.7, the same variant discovered in the UK.
— Governor Jared Polis (@GovofCO) December 29, 2020
The health and safety of Coloradans is our top priority and we will monitor this case, as well as all COVID-19 indicators, very closely. pic.twitter.com/fjyq7QhzBi
"The individual is recovering in isolation and will remain there until cleared by public health officials," the news release read. "The individual has no close contacts identified so far, but public health officials are working to identify other potential cases and contacts through thorough contact tracing interviews."
In a statement, Polis said, "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. The health and safety of Coloradans is our top priority and we will closely monitor this case, as well as all COVID-19 indicators, very closely. We are working to prevent spread and contain the virus at all levels. I want to thank our scientists and dedicated medical professionals for their swift work and ask Coloradans to continue our efforts to prevent disease transmission by wearing masks, standing six feet apart when gathering with others, and only interacting with members of their immediate household.”
The variant, known as B.1.1.7, is believed to be more contagious than the other versions of the COVID-19. However, experts believe the vaccines currently available are still effective against this new version of the virus. Furthermore, B.1.1.7 does not appear to make people more sick or likelier to die.
“The fact that Colorado has detected this variant first in the nation is a testament to the sophistication of Colorado's response and the talent of CDPHE's scientist and lab operations,” said Jill Hunsaker Ryan, executive director of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment in a news release. “We are currently using all the tools available to protect public health and mitigate the spread of this variant.”
According to PBS NewsHour, there is currently no evidence to suggest that someone immune to the previous version of COVID-19 would be susceptible to infection from B.1.1.7. But experts are still working to confirm that is the case.
Governor Polis will provide more details on the new case in a press conference the morning of December 30. We will stream the update live on the Rocky Mountain PBS Facebook page.
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