State detects COVID-19 variant initially discovered in UK
Photo | Grant Welker
Worcester's Pleasant Street
It was expected to arrive eventually and may have already been here, but state public health officials on Sunday afternoon confirmed the first case of the COVID-19 variant B.1.1.7 that was initially discovered in the United Kingdom.
The case was found in a Boston resident, a female in her 20s, who had visited the United Kingdom and became ill the day after she returned. She had tested negative prior to leaving the UK, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health said.
State officials did not release a specific timeline but said the individual developed symptoms "in early January" and tested positive for COVID-19. After a a genetic sample was sent to an out-of-state laboratory as part of the US Centers for Disease Control and Preventions (CDC) surveillance process to identify COVID-19 variants, state officials said late Sunday that they were notified Saturday evening of the results.
"The individual was interviewed by contact tracers at the time the initial positive result was received, and close contacts were identified. She is being re-interviewed by public health officials now that the variant has been identified as the cause of illness," DPH said.
To date, the CDC has reported 88 cases of the variant from 14 states in the United States.
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