Name: COVID-19 strain of UK variant confirmed in Maryland, Hogan says
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COVID-19 strain of UK variant confirmed in Maryland, Hogan says

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AdvertisementUK variant of COVID-19 confirmed in Maryland, Hogan saysHide TranscriptShow TranscriptTESTING FOLLOWED BY CONFIRMATION FROM THE STATE AND THE CDC. &gt;&gt; THEY ARE CURRENTLY IN ISOLATIONA” AND THEY’RE CONDUCTING CONTACT TRACING TO QUICKLY DETERMINE HOW THEY MAY HAVE INTERACTED WITH KAI: GOVERNOR HOGAN SAID HE LEARNED OF MARYLAND’S FIRST CONFIRMED CASES OF THE UK VARIANT OF COVID -19, JUST MINUTES BEFORE HIS NEWS CONFERENCE TUESDAY. THE INFECTED COUPLE LIVES IN ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY. ONE OF THEM RECENTLY TRAVELED TO MULTIPLE COUNTRIES AND IS BELIEVED TO HAVE THEN INFECTED THEIR SPOUSE. THEY’RE BOTH YOUNGER THAN 65-YEARS-OLD AND HAVEN’T REQUIRED HOSPITALIZATION. STATE OFFICIALS HAVEN’T SAID WHEN THE TRAVEL TOOK PLACE OR WHEN THE COUPLE STARTED SHOWING SYMPTOMS. WE ARE TESTING AT FIVE TIMES THE NATIONAL AVERAGE. FOR THIS U.K. VARIANT. SO WE MIGHT HAVE FOUND IT FASTER THAN OTHER PEOPLE, BUT I THINK IT’S PRETTY MUCH EVERYWHE ACROSS THE COUNTRY. &gt;&gt; I THINK WE’LL SEE THESE VARIANTS POP UP WORLDWIDE, AND WE’LL SEE NEW VARIANTS POP UP WORLDWIDE. KAI: DR. CHRISTOPHER THOMPSON IS AN ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF BIOLOGY AT LOYOLA UNIVERSITY, MARYLAND. HE EXPLAINED THAT WHILE THE UK VARIANT HAS SHOWN TO BE MORE EASILY SPREAD, BY ABOUT 70%, HE SAYS THERE IS STILL A LOT THAT HEALTH EXPERTS DON’T KNOW. &gt;&gt; WE DON’T KNOW ANYTHING ABOU THE MORTALITY ASSOCIATED WITH THIS ONE OR THE SEVERITY OF THE DISEASE. SO WE’RE STILL TRYING TO LOOK AT THAT. FOR RIGHT NOW, IT DOESN’T LOOK LIKE IT HAS A HIGHER MORTALI RATE ASSOCIATED WITH IT. THE ONLY CONCERN IS THAT IT CAN SPREAD EVEN MORE THAN NORMAL. KA AT THIS POINT, DR THOMPSON SAYS THE SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS WITH THE U.K. VARIANT APPEAR TO BE THE SAME OR SIMILAR TO WHAT WE’VE SEEN. AND PFIZER RECENTLY PUBLISHED PRELIMINARY DATA SUGGESTING ITS VACCINE WILL BE EFFECTIVE AGAINST IT. WHILE WE SHOULD BE CONCERNED ABOUT IT AND NEED TO DO LOTS OF RESEARCH ON IT, OUR PUBLIC HEALTH RESPONSES SHOULDN’T CHANGE AT ALL. I THINK IT UNDERSCORES THIS NEED TO BE VIGILANT ABOUT WEARING OUR MASK WASHING HANDS, SOCIAL DISTANCING, BECAUSE THIS ONE CAN SPREAD MORE SO WE NEED TO MINIMIZE AS MANY PEOPLE GETTING IT AS POSSIBLE KA THE INFECTED COUPLE HAS TWO CHILDREN, ACCORDING TO GOVERNOR HOGAN. HE SAID THEY HAVEN’T BEEN TESTED AND THAT THEY ARE QUARANTINED WITH THEIR PARAdvertisementUK variant of COVID-19 confirmed in Maryland, Hogan saysThe Maryland state public health lab confirmed the first two cases of the U.K. variant of COVID-19 in the state, Gov. Larry Hogan announced Tuesday.|| Coronavirus updates | Maryland's latest numbers | Where to get tested ||The governor said the case involves an Anne Arundel County couple younger than 65. One of the individuals traveled abroad to multiple countries and multiple continents and is thought to have infected their spouse. Both are in isolation, and the state is conducting contact tracing. Neither patient has required hospitalization.Many unknown questions remain unanswered about this case, including when the travel took place and when the couple became sick.The governor said a private lab initially handled the test and found some strange sequences they didn't understand. They sent it to the Maryland state public health lab, which confirmed the U.K. strain. The state lab also sent the test to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which also confirmed the U.K. strain."We are testing at five times the national average or this U.K. variant, so we might have found it faster than other people, but I think it's pretty much everywhere across the country,” Hogan said."Think we'll see these variants pop up worldwide and we'll see new variants pop up worldwide,” said Dr. Christopher Thompson, associate professor of biology at Loyola University, Maryland. Watch the governor's update: The U.K. strain, commonly known as B-117, is a more contagious strain of the coronavirus. It first emerged in the U.K. in late 2020. Health officials said the current vaccines are believed to be effective against the variant.Thompson explained that while the U.K. variant has shown to be more easily spread by about 70%. He said there is still a lot that health experts don't know."We don't know anything about the mortality associated with this one or the severity of the disease, so we're still trying to look at that. But for right now, it doesn't look like it has a higher mortality rate associated with it. The only concern is that it can spread even more than normal,” Thompson said. At this point, Thompson says the signs and symptoms with the U.K. variant appear to be the same or similar to what we've seen. And Pfizer recently published preliminary data suggesting its vaccine will be effective against it."While we should be concerned about it and need to do lots of research on it, our public health responses shouldn't change at all. I think it underscores this need to be vigilant about wearing our mask washing hands, social distancing because this one can spread more, so we need to minimize as many people getting it as possible,” Thompson said.According to Hogan, the infected couple has two children. He said they haven't been tested and that they are quarantined with their parents.The governor's office also said there is currently no evidence of additional transmission of the U.K. strain. The Maryland Department of Health continues aggressive contact tracing for all cases of COVID-19 identified in the state.The Maryland state public health lab confirmed the first two cases of the U.K. variant of COVID-19 in the state, Gov. Larry Hogan announced Tuesday.|| | | ||AdvertisementThe governor said the case involves an Anne Arundel County couple younger than 65. One of the individuals traveled abroad to multiple countries and multiple continents and is thought to have infected their spouse. Both are in isolation, and the state is conducting contact tracing. Neither patient has required hospitalization.Many unknown questions remain unanswered about this case, including when the travel took place and when the couple became sick.The governor said a private lab initially handled the test and found some strange sequences they didn't understand. They sent it to the Maryland state public health lab, which confirmed the U.K. strain. The state lab also sent the test to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which also confirmed the U.K. strain."We are testing at five times the national average or this U.K. variant, so we might have found it faster than other people, but I think it's pretty much everywhere across the country,” Hogan said."Think we'll see these variants pop up worldwide and we'll see new variants pop up worldwide,” said Dr. Christopher Thompson, associate professor of biology at Loyola University, Maryland.Watch the governor's update:The U.K. strain, commonly known as B-117, is a more contagious strain of the coronavirus. It first emerged in the U.K. in late 2020. Health officials said the current vaccines are believed to be effective against the variant.Thompson explained that while the U.K. variant has shown to be more easily spread by about 70%. He said there is still a lot that health experts don't know."We don't know anything about the mortality associated with this one or the severity of the disease, so we're still trying to look at that. But for right now, it doesn't look like it has a higher mortality rate associated with it. The only concern is that it can spread even more than normal,” Thompson said. At this point, Thompson says the signs and symptoms with the U.K. variant appear to be the same or similar to what we've seen. And Pfizer recently published preliminary data suggesting its vaccine will be effective against it."While we should be concerned about it and need to do lots of research on it, our public health responses shouldn't change at all. I think it underscores this need to be vigilant about wearing our mask washing hands, social distancing because this one can spread more, so we need to minimize as many people getting it as possible,” Thompson said.According to Hogan, the infected couple has two children. He said they haven't been tested and that they are quarantined with their parents.The governor's office also said there is currently no evidence of additional transmission of the U.K. strain. The Maryland Department of Health continues aggressive contact tracing for all cases of COVID-19 identified in the state.Loading more articles...

AdvertisementUK variant of COVID-19 confirmed in Maryland, Hogan saysHide TranscriptShow TranscriptTESTING FOLLOWED BY CONFIRMATION FROM THE STATE AND THE CDC. &gt;&gt; THEY ARE CURRENTLY IN ISOLATIONA” AND THEY’RE CONDUCTING CONTACT TRACING TO QUICKLY DETERMINE HOW THEY MAY HAVE INTERACTED WITH KAI: GOVERNOR HOGAN SAID HE LEARNED OF MARYLAND’S FIRST CONFIRMED CASES OF THE UK VARIANT OF COVID -19, JUST MINUTES BEFORE HIS NEWS CONFERENCE TUESDAY. THE INFECTED COUPLE LIVES IN ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY. ONE OF THEM RECENTLY TRAVELED TO MULTIPLE COUNTRIES AND IS BELIEVED TO HAVE THEN INFECTED THEIR...

COVID-19 strain of UK variant confirmed in Maryland, Hogan says

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