Tag: Coronavirus

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Does wearing two masks provide more protection? | Covid19 | latrobebulletinnews.com

(AP) — Does wearing two masks provide more protection?

It depends, but it’s possible that doubling up could help in some situations.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends wearing a cloth mask made with two or more layers, and ensuring it covers your nose and mouth. The agency says it should fit snugly so there aren’t any gaps at the sides of your face.

Wearing just one mask should be enough for most situations, as long as it fits well and isn’t loose, said Dr. David Hamer, an infectious disease expert at Boston University.“

Starting out with a good mask to begin with is going to be key,” Hamer said.

Some people might want extra protection if they’re at risk for severe illness if infected or will be in situations where they expect to be around others for extended periods, such as on a plane.

One option in scenarios when you want extra protection is to wear a cloth mask as well as a regular surgical mask, said Dr. Monica Gandhi, an infectious disease expert at the University of California, San Francisco.

Gandhi said that combination — with either mask on top — could help achieve a similar effect as the N95 mask. She recommended the added protection for people who will be indoors in areas where transmission rates are high — which could reflect the circulation of more contagious variants.

Another option Gandhi and a colleague recommend for situations where you want “maximum” protection: A two-layer cloth mask that has a filter material in between.

With single cloth masks for everyday use, Gandhi noted it’s important that they’re made of tightly woven material and have at least two layers, which creates “an obstacle course” that makes it harder for virus-carrying particles to break through.

Source: Does wearing two masks provide more protection? | Covid19 | latrobebulletinnews.com

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Democrats push forward with $1.9 trillion COVID stimulus bill, clearing Senate hurdle – CBS News

Washington — The Senate on Tuesday cleared a procedural hurdle on the road to passing President Biden‘s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief proposal, a signal that congressional Democrats will continue to move forward with a vote to provide more economic assistance whether or not Republicans come to the negotiating table.

“We cannot, cannot afford to dither, delay or dilute. We need a big, bold package along the lines of what President Biden has proposed, the American Relief Plan. We hope that our Republican colleagues will join us in offering amendments,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a speech ahead of the vote on Tuesday.

A motion to proceed to debate over the budget resolution that serves as the vehicle for the aid package passed by a 50 to 49 vote along party lines in the Senate on Tuesday afternoon.

Source: Democrats push forward with $1.9 trillion COVID stimulus bill, clearing Senate hurdle – CBS News

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Coronavirus stimulus: Joe Biden to meet with Republican senators about relief bill

President Biden will meet with 10 GOP senators after they put forward a $618 billion counteroffer to his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan.

  • President Joe Biden will meet with 10 Republican senators as he tries to pass a coronavirus relief package.
  • The GOP lawmakers put forward a $618 billion aid package, which scales back the direct payments and unemployment benefits in Biden’s plan and does not include state and local government aid.
  • Biden has to decide whether to move forward with his $1.9 trillion proposal with only Democratic votes in the Senate or try to negotiate a smaller piece of legislation with Republicans.

Source: Coronavirus stimulus: Joe Biden to meet with Republican senators about relief bill

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What You Need to Know About Vitamin D | Newsmax.com

Vitamin D is an essential nutrient, and recent research has suggested it may also help guard against severe COVID-19.

But how much is enough, and how hard is it to get the right amount of vitamin D?

“We know that a large percentage of the population has suboptimal levels of vitamin D. In fact, as many as half of the U.S. population may be deficient in vitamin D,” said Kristin Gustashaw, clinical dietitian at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. “This can possibly lead to symptoms including fatigue, tiredness, hair loss, delayed wound healing, decreased immune health, muscle pain, and more, with no other known causes.

“Part of the difficulty of maintaining vitamin D levels is because there are not a large variety of foods that contain much vitamin D,” Gustashaw added in a medical center news release.

The vitamin is accessible to people through some foods, supplements, and even sunshine.

Food sources include egg yolks, milk, cheese, beef or calf liver, and certain fish, such as salmon, mackerel, tuna, and sardines. Other foods are fortified with vitamin D, including certain cereals, breads, soy milk, and orange juice.

Read Newsmax: What You Need to Know About Vitamin D | Newsmax.comSource: What You Need to Know About Vitamin D | Newsmax.com

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Teachers say they want the Covid-19 vaccine before they head back to the classroom

By Safia Samee Ali and Corky Siemaszko

CHICAGO – Children who have been marooned at home for months by the pandemic are slowly returning to classrooms, but many teachers say they won’t go back until they’ve received the Covid-19 vaccine.

Especially in Chicago, the nation’s third-largest public school district, where teachers who were supposed to return to classrooms Wednesday worked from home again and are once more threatening to strike.

Source: Teachers say they want the Covid-19 vaccine before they head back to the classroom

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Westmoreland creates website for vaccine info | TribLIVE.com

The new website has a list of vaccine providers, how to contact them and a link to the state health department’s interactive map of vaccine providers.

Information on how to register for the covid vaccine and a quiz to determine when a person is eligible to get one can be found at www.co.westmoreland.pa.us/2934/29523/Vaccine-Info.

Residents need to contact the vaccine provider to schedule an appointment. Supplies of the vaccine are limited, the county said.

The web page also has information on the state’s four phases of distribution. Information on the authorized vaccines and potential side effects can be found.

Source: Westmoreland creates website for vaccine info | TribLIVE.com

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‘Crazy and evil’: Bill Gates surprised by pandemic conspiracies | Reuters

LONDON (Reuters) – Microsoft co-founder turned philanthropist Bill Gates says he has been taken aback by the volume of “crazy” and “evil” conspiracy theories about him spreading on social media during the COVID-19 pandemic, but said on Wednesday he would like to explore what is behind them.

In an interview with Reuters, Gates said the millions of online posts and “crazy conspiracy theories” about him and about top U.S. infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci had likely taken hold in part because of the combination of a frightening viral pandemic and the rise of social media.

“Nobody would have predicted that I and Dr. Fauci would be so prominent in these really evil theories,” Gates said.“

I’m very surprised by that. I hope it goes away.”

Source: ‘Crazy and evil’: Bill Gates surprised by pandemic conspiracies | Reuters

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Westmoreland County sees lowest number of new reported covid cases since October | TribLIVE.com

There were 52 new covid-19 cases reported in Westmoreland County on Tuesday, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

That number represents the lowest amount of new reported cases this month and the least since Oct. 11, when 52 cases were also reported.

Tuesday’s figures bring the seven-day covid case count to 776, which is the lowest the seven-day case count has been since Nov. 11 when it was 670.

Source: Westmoreland County sees lowest number of new reported covid cases since October | TribLIVE.com

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Mexico’s president says he’s tested positive for COVID-19

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Sunday he has tested positive for COVID-19 and that the symptoms are mild.

Mexico’s president, who has been criticized for his handling of his country’s pandemic and for not setting an example of prevention in public, said on his official Twitter account that he is under medical treatment.

“I regret to inform you that I am infected with COVID-19,” he tweeted. “The symptoms are mild but I am already under medical treatment. As always, I am optimistic. We will all move forward.”

José Luis Alomía Zegarra, Mexico’s director of epidemiology, said López Obrador had a “light” case of COVID-19 and was “isolating at home.”

Mexico’s president wrote that while he recovered Interior Secretary Olga Sánchez Cordero would be taking over for him in his daily news conferences, at which he usually speaks for two hours without breaks each weekday.

Source: Mexico’s president says he’s tested positive for COVID-19

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Bipartisan group of senators pushes back on Biden Covid plan – POLITICO

A bipartisan group of senators told White House officials on Sunday that the stimulus spending in President Joe Biden’s coronavirus relief plan provides too much money to high-income Americans, an opening setback in the new administration’s complex pandemic negotiations with Congress.

Biden’s proposal would provide $1,400 direct payments to Americans, some of whom senators say don’t need the money. Still, the discussion was civil and there was a “consensus” on the need to act urgently on vaccine distribution, said multiple senators on the call. It was also a sign that the Biden White House will be more hands on than former President Donald Trump, who nearly refused to sign the last relief bill after making a flurry of last-minute requests after the bill already passed Congress.

Source: Bipartisan group of senators pushes back on Biden Covid plan – POLITICO

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Californian dies hours after getting COVID-19 vaccine, prompting probe

A California resident who was vaccinated against COVID-19 died just hours later — and authorities are trying to find out why.

The Placer County Sheriff’s Office announced the death and the investigation Saturday in a Facebook post, but gave few details.

The county, which is in the greater Sacramento area, was “recently notified” of the person’s death, the police said.

The person had tested positive for coronavirus in December and had been vaccinated just hours before their Jan. 21 death.

There was no indication which vaccine the person had been given.

Source: Californian dies hours after getting COVID-19 vaccine, prompting probe

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Pittsburgh Public Schools board members propose plan to keep students in virtual learning until April 6

PITTSBURGH —

Several members of the Pittsburgh Public Schools board proposed a plan to keep students in virtual learning until after Spring Break, April 6, during a board meeting on Wednesday.

The board said this would postpone the phased-in approach until after the anticipated rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine to employees.

The board will vote on the resolution at its legislative meeting next week, Jan. 27.“No one wants students back in school more than I do,” Board President Sylvia, who brought forward the resolution, said in a news release. “With COVID-19 numbers lingering in the substantial range and the genuine concerns raised by our teachers and staff of returning before the vaccine is available to them, I have to support the tough decision to postpone the return of students for in-person learning.”

Source: Pittsburgh Public Schools board members propose plan to keep students in virtual learning until April 6

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China Barricades Part of Capital as Northern Outbreak Escalates – Bloomberg

Beijing has imposed a lockdown of 1.7 million people in part of the Chinese capital as officials race to prevent a Covid-19 resurgence in the country’s northern region from seeping into its most important city.

Daxing district in southern Beijing, where its new airport is located, has been sealed off from the rest of the country after six infections were found there. The total number of cases in Beijing stands at 15, while over a thousand infections have been found nationwide since early January, mostly in China’s vast rural northern provinces.

Source: China Barricades Part of Capital as Northern Outbreak Escalates – Bloomberg

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Cuomo warns of tax hikes, dire cuts if feds can’t find $15B

ALBANY, N.Y. — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo had one overriding message Tuesday as he delivered his annual budget address from New York’s state Capitol: If Washington doesn’t send New York $15 billion as part of a pandemic relief package, he’ll have no choice but to slash public payrolls, cut services and raise taxes on the rich.

Cuomo argued that the state is uniquely entitled to those funds because the pandemic hit New York so hard last spring and was comparatively defenseless thanks to federal government bungling.

He went one step further and threatened to pursue litigation if the federal government did not acquiesce to his ask, though officials, when asked, did not immediately say whom the state might sue or what legal arguments New York could employ.

For the moment, though, it’s uncertain whether the state will get what it is asking for, and its new budget, due at the end of March, reflects that uncertainty. “We don’t know, in short, what level of aid we will get, but the budget is dependent on that number,” he said.

The full amount would mean New York could avoid squeezing its localities out of their allotted aid, offer relief to small businesses and restaurants, focus on education and workforce issues, and get on the road to recovery, he said. Anything less, he said, would be an affront to the suffering the state experienced as one of the first to be overwhelmed by the pandemic, calling it a “2021 version of the federal government saying ‘drop dead’ to New York.”

Source: Cuomo warns of tax hikes, dire cuts if feds can’t find $15B

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Norway investigating deaths of 23 individuals who received COVID-19 vaccine

In Norway, authorities are investigating the deaths of nearly two dozen people who received the COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and BioNTech (NSDQ:BNTX).

To date, it has analyzed data from 13 of those individuals.

The Norwegian Medicines Agency concluded that common adverse reactions to mRNA vaccines, including fever and nausea, could have contributed to deaths in elderly and frail patients.

Get the full story from our sister site, Drug Discovery & Development.

Source: Norway investigating deaths of 23 individuals who received COVID-19 vaccine

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‘At 6 p.m., life stops’: Europe uses curfews to fight virus

PARIS (AP) — As the wan winter sun sets over France’s Champagne region, the countdown clock kicks in.

Laborers stop pruning the vines as the light fades at about 4:30 p.m., leaving them 90 minutes to come in from the cold, change out of their work clothes, hop in their cars and zoom home before a 6 p.m. coronavirus curfew.

Forget about any after-work socializing with friends, after-school clubs for children or doing any evening shopping beyond quick trips for essentials. Police on patrol demand valid reasons from people seen out and about. For those without them, the threat of mounting fines for curfew-breakers is increasingly making life outside of the weekends all work and no play.

Source: ‘At 6 p.m., life stops’: Europe uses curfews to fight virus

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Former Pittsburgh Steeler Sam Davis’ Family Sues McKeesport Personal Care Home For Negligence In His Death – CBS Pittsburgh

By: KDKA-TV News Staff

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – The family of former Pittsburgh Steeler Sam Davis is suing a personal care home in McKeesport, claiming negligence in connection with his death.

A lawsuit was filed against New Life Personal Care Home, Inc. in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court.

The lawsuit says in 1991 during his football career, Davis sustained a significant head injury that worsened over time. According to the lawsuit, Davis lived on the second floor of the facility and had access to a private staircase, though he was legally blind and “had difficulty ambulating.”

He was reported missing in September when he failed to show up for breakfast, the lawsuit says, and was found 14 hours later, dead at the bottom of the stairs.

“During the entire 14-hour time that Sam was missing, the Defendant facility failed to discover Sam’s body in this stairwell. Sam was alive and capable of being saved after his fall down the staircase, but Defendant’s delay caused or contributed to his death,” the lawsuit reads.

The lawsuit is claiming damages pursuant to the Pennsylvania Wrongful Death Act.

Davis was a four-time Super Bowl champion.

Source: Former Pittsburgh Steeler Sam Davis’ Family Sues McKeesport Personal Care Home For Negligence In His Death – CBS Pittsburgh

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Eligible veterans can get COVID-19 vaccine at special VA clinics in Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH — The VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System will host walk-in COVID-19 vaccine clinics at the University Drive campus in Oakland.

The events will be held Saturday, Jan. 16 and Monday, Jan. 18 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

To receive the vaccine, veterans must:

  • be 75 years of age or older
  • be eligible for and enrolled in VA health care
  • receive health care at VA Pittsburgh

If a veteran meets all of the criteria, they are welcome to stop by the campus during the walk-in clinic times.

No appointment is necessary.

If you meet the criteria but are unable to make it to the clinic, please reach out to your primary care team to request an appointment to get the vaccine.

The VA facility in Oakland is located at:

4100 Allequippa St

Pittsburgh, PA 15240

Source: Eligible veterans can get COVID-19 vaccine at special VA clinics in Pittsburgh

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China Places Over 22 Million on Lockdown Amid New Covid Wave – The New York Times

The country is experiencing its worst coronavirus flare-up since last summer, testing the government’s success in subduing the disease.

When a handful of new coronavirus cases materialized this month in a province surrounding Beijing — apparently spread at a village wedding party — the Chinese authorities bolted into action.

They locked down two cities with more than 17 million people, Shijiazhuang and Xingtai. They ordered a crash testing regime of nearly every resident there, which was completed in a matter of days.

They shut down transportation and canceled weddings, funerals and, most significantly, a provincial Communist Party conference.

By this week the lockdowns expanded to include another city on the edge of Beijing, Langfang, as well as a county in Heilongjiang, a northeastern province. Districts in Beijing itself, the Chinese capital, also shut down.

Source: China Places Over 22 Million on Lockdown Amid New Covid Wave – The New York Times

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Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf unveils updated coronavirus vaccine rollout plan – The Morning Call

State officials on Friday said a new update of the coronavirus vaccine rollout plan puts several groups of people — those over 75, those with significant health issues and essential front-line workers — in line behind health care workers for priority in getting shots.

HARRISBURG — State officials on Friday unveiled an updated coronavirus vaccine rollout plan that puts more people — including those 75 or older, those with significant health issues and essential front-line workers — in line behind health care workers for priority in getting shots.

Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine said in an online press briefing that the state has received 827,300 doses of the two approved vaccines and more than 235,000 Pennsylvanians have been vaccinated, with health care workers and people in long-term care facilities being inoculated now.

Source: Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf unveils updated coronavirus vaccine rollout plan – The Morning Call

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U.S. officials report more severe allergic reactions to COVID-19 vaccines | Reuters

(Reuters) – The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Wednesday it is carefully monitoring allergic reactions to the coronavirus vaccines from Pfizer Inc and Moderna Inc and urged individuals who had a serious reaction not to get the second dose.

In a conference call with reporters, the U.S. public health agency said allergic reactions are occurring at a rate of 11.1 per 1 million vaccinations. That compared with flu vaccines, in which such reactions occur at a rate of 1.3 per 1 million shots.

The severe reactions are still “exceedingly rare,” they said, stressing the need for people to get vaccinated when the shots become available to them, given the threat of death and serious disease from the coronavirus that has already claimed more than 357,000 lives in the United States alone.

Source: U.S. officials report more severe allergic reactions to COVID-19 vaccines | Reuters

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U.K. orders strict lockdown as coronavirus variant surges – CBS News

Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday ordered a new lockdown across Britain in an effort to contain a new variant of the coronavirus. In a televised address, Johnson called the next few weeks a “critical moment” in the country’s fight against COVID-19.

The new measure forces the closure of all schools, shutters personal care services such as barbers and hairdressers, and bans in-person dining at restaurants. While fines do apply for those who leave their homes without valid excuses, there are exemptions in place for those gathering food, going to and from childcare, getting medical supplies, or true emergencies.

Residents are asked to limit exercise outdoors to once a day. Meeting more than one person outside your house for picnics or drinks is not allowed.

Source: U.K. orders strict lockdown as coronavirus variant surges – CBS News

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New L.A. County quarantine order for travelers now official – Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles County has become the latest county in California to impose a mandatory quarantine on long-distance travelers.

At least two other counties — Santa Clara and San Francisco — have similar mandatory orders. The California Department of Public Health on Nov. 13 issued an advisory urging Californians to stay home or in their region and avoid nonessential travel, including for tourism or recreation.

The regional stay-at-home order prohibits hotels and other lodging companies from offering rooms to people visiting for tourism and leisure.

The moves are part of a desperate effort to slow the spread of COVID-19, which is pushing hospitals to the breaking point. L.A. County has seen an unprecedented surge in both cases and deaths since November and has emerged as one of the nation’s leading hot spots.

Source: New L.A. County quarantine order for travelers now official – Los Angeles Times

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Top NSA Official Tells British: China Leaked COVID | Newsmax.com

An aerial view shows the P4 laboratory (C) at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan in China’s central Hubei province on April 17, 2020. ( Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images)

A whistleblower from the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China has given the United States the “most credible” intelligence yet the global coronavirus pandemic was a “leak or an accident” in the lab.

“There is a growing body of evidence that the lab is likely the most credible source of the virus,” Deputy National Security Adviser Matthew Pottinger told British parliamentarians in a Zoom call, the U.K.’s Daily Mail reported.

Source: Top NSA Official Tells British: China Leaked COVID | Newsmax.com

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Larry King has been hospitalized with Covid-19 – CNN

Legendary talk show host and former CNN interviewer Larry King has Covid-19, according to a source close to the family.

King, 87, has been hospitalized at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles for more than a week, the source said. Due to protocols at the hospital, King’s three sons have been unable to visit him, according to the source.
King, who has Type 2 diabetes, has confronted a series of medical issues over the years, including several heart attacks and quintuple bypass surgery in 1987. In 2017, King revealed he had been diagnosed with lung cancer and successfully underwent surgery to treat it. He also underwent a procedure in 2019 to address angina.
His own medical issues inspired him to start the Larry King Cardiac Foundation, a non-profit aimed at helping those without health insurance afford medical care.

Source: Larry King has been hospitalized with Covid-19 – CNN

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Luke Letlow, 41-year-old congressman-elect, dies with COVID-19

Luke Letlow, the newly elected member of Congress from Louisiana, died Tuesday night from complications related to COVID-19, a spokesman announced.

Dr. G.E. Ghali, of LSU Health Shreveport, told NOLA.com that Letlow was in critical condition but showed signs of improvement.  He “apparently suffered a cardiac event this evening that was refractory to all resuscitation efforts.”

Rep. Steve Scalise, another Republican from the state, issued a statement calling Letlow a “positive spirit” who had a “tremendously bright future ahead of him.”

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi also issued a statement saying the entire body mourns his passing.

“May it be a comfort to Luke’s wife Julia and their children Jeremiah and Jacqueline that so many mourn their loss and are praying for them at this sad time,” she wrote in a statement.

Andrew Bautsch, the Letlow spokesman, confirmed the congressman-elect’s death at Ochsner-LSU Health Shreveport.

Source: Luke Letlow, 41-year-old congressman-elect, dies with COVID-19

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Colorado health officials confirm highly infectious coronavirus variant found, first in US

Colorado public health officials on Tuesday confirmed the first U.S. case of the new highly contagious strain of the coronavirus that was first discovered in Britain weeks ago, prompting a new set of lockdowns there.

A state lab informed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) about the presence of the strain in a man in his 20s from Elbert County. He has no travel history and is isolating himself until cleared by public health officials, Gov. Jared Polis said in a statement.

STEFANIK CALLS CUOMO ‘ABSOLUTE DISGRACE’ FOR PRIORITIZING DRUG ADDICTS FOR CORONAVIRUS VACCINE

“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,” Polis said. “We are working to prevent spread and contain the virus at all levels.”

Polis said the man has no close contacts identified thus far but that public health officials were working to find others who were potentially exposed through contact tracing interviews. He said his office will monitor the new case “very closely.”

Source: Colorado health officials confirm highly infectious coronavirus variant found, first in US

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