A man in his 20s has been found infected with the new strain
of coronavirus in Colorado, which emerged first in the UK before spreading to
dozens of other countries, the state Governor’s office confirmed on Tuesday.
A press statement issued by Governor Jared Polis said that
the person, who has been isolated since then, has had no recent travel history,
neither any close contacts.
“The Colorado State Laboratory confirmed and notified the
Center for Disease Control (CDC) of the case. The individual is a male in his
20s who is currently in isolation in Elbert County and has no travel history,”
the statement read.
The lab is further interviewing people through contact
tracing to identify potential cases of infection.
“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,” Polis said in the statement.
“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 virus strain, which is said to be more contagious, but
no more severe in terms of symptoms than the previously identified strains of the SARS-CoV-2 variant,
was first detected in the UK, and has since travelled to several other nations
across continents.
It has so far been detected in Italy, France, Spain, Netherlands,
India, Chile, and Japan, among many other countries.
