Cases of COVID-19 in Colorado are increasing as public health authorities expand their search for new, more contagious strains – The Denver Post

As COVID-19 infections increase in Colorado following the Christmas holidays, public health officials are stepping up efforts to track new, more contagious variants of the virus that was first identified in the state last week. ..

Health officials estimate that one in 105 coronadans are infected with the new coronavirus on Friday. This indicates that while new cases and hospitalizations have fallen from their fall peaks, infections with the respiratory disease COVID-19 remain high throughout the state.

In a new briefing, state epidemiologist Dr. Rachel Harley said, “There are some early signs that there has been a slight increase so far after Christmas.” “It’s not long before we see the potential impact of New Year’s Eve.”

Only three Colorados have been identified so far, but public health experts say that a new variant called B.1.1.7 could cause a new surge in some cases when it becomes a major stock in the state. I am also concerned about having sex. England.

In such scenarios, more people will be hospitalized and die not because the new variant causes more serious symptoms or is more deadly, but because it is more contagious than the previous strain of virus. There is a possibility. More infectious than%.

But before they can fight the new variant, state officials must first find it. According to medical and public health experts, the United States lacks much of the infrastructure needed to identify genetic variants of the virus, and doing so faces challenges.

“The United States is far behind where it should be (in terms of sequencing),” said Dr. Jeremy Luban, a professor of molecular medicine at the University of Massachusetts School of Medicine.

“Wherever you’re infected … if the virus appears or is similar, it’s likely to take over,” he added.

Colorado Institute The first to identify the existence of B.1.1.7 in the United States We are beginning to expand our collection of samples from across the state to allow wider testing of new variants of the coronavirus.

So far, the state does not believe that new varieties are widespread in Colorado, Herlihy said.

“We are rapidly expanding our state surveillance for all variants, not just the B.1.1.7 variant,” says Herlihy. “That’s why our lab is now receiving samples from a network of hospitals throughout the state.”

Specimens sent to state laboratories come from both inpatients and people tested in the clinic. By doing this, state laboratories can look at a wide sample of specimens to identify areas of Colorado where varieties may be present, Herlihy said.

This week, two more people in Colorado were confirmed to have cases of a new variant. Make the state total at least three..

Two cases are members of the Colorado National Security Force assigned to assist in the outbreak at the Good Sumaritan Society’s nursing home in Shimura, on the eastern plains, and the third is the Veterans Community Living Center in Fitz Simmons, Aurora. It is the staff of. State officials are investigating a potential fourth case of another staff member at the Aurora facility.

The COVID-19 vaccine distributed in the state is believed to protect against new variants. However, efforts to protect most of the state’s population from illness are expected to take months, so people wash their hands, wear masks and crowds by public health and medical professionals. You are encouraged to avoid and stay 6 feet away from others.

“The controls are the same,” Ruban said. “People should not get together.”

I couldn’t really talk about a pandemic in Colorado, but Mr. Luban said it was generally a “mistake” to keep a restaurant open while the infection rate was high.Colorado Relax restrictions in more than 30 counties on Monday, And one of the biggest changes it made possible was to have the restaurant reopen indoor dining.

“I don’t want people who aren’t usually together in the same living environment to get together in an enclosed space,” he said. “That’s the surest way to spread the virus.”

The Colorado Department of Health recorded 2,863 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, with a 7-day test positive rate of 7.99%. This is above the recommended threshold of 5%.

833 people were hospitalized across the state on Friday and COVID-19 was confirmed. This is pretty much what the state saw during the April surge. Herlihy said there were signs of reduced hospitalization.

At the beginning of the week, Colorado surpassed 5,000 COVID-related deaths. Most of these deaths are due to the new coronavirus, according to the State Department of Health.

According to a spokesperson for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, all test samples of the new coronavirus sent to state laboratories will be screened for the signature of the variant.