The newer strains are about 50 percent more contagious than the virus that has been most widely circulating in the United States, though it doesn’t seem to be more fatal for any one person who catches it. They believe the upswing is due to people falling ill after holiday travel. The total includes positives from rapid antigen tests.Īs bad as the COVID spread now is, both here and nationally, experts believe these new strains are not responsible for the spike in cases seen in many states recently. Separately, Georgia Public Health officials Friday reported more than 13,000 new COVID cases, a single-day record in the state. “If it’s in the middle of the country, you’ve got to figure it’s in just about every state, or will be soon,’’ Kemp said.Ī Kemp spokeswoman later added that “to err on the side of caution, we are operating as if there are more cases of the variant in Georgia.” Brian Kemp, at a Capitol press conference, said he had expected that Georgia had the strain because it was already known to be in a few other states, such as Colorado.
State health officials said Friday that the teen has the only known case of the variant so far in Georgia. Public Health said it’s working to identify close contacts of the individual and will monitor them closely and test them for the variant. The Georgia resident is an 18-year-old male with no recent travel history, and is currently in isolation at home. The variant was discovered during analysis of a specimen sent by a Georgia pharmacy to a commercial lab, state officials said. Georgia is among the states that have reported the more contagious strain that was discovered in Britain last month.
Another highly contagious strain from South Africa could be on its way. This article first appeared in WebMD.Īfter 10 months of masks, social distancing, virtual school, fear for vulnerable loved ones, and loneliness, this is the news no one wanted to hear: The virus that causes COVID-19 has changed - once again - in ways that make it more contagious.Īt least one new “super strain” of the virus is already in the U.S. Andy Miller is editor of Georgia Health News. Brenda Goodman is a senior news writer for WebMD.
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