The first known case in the U.S. of a variant of Brazil’s coronavirus was confirmed Monday, according to the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH). COVID-19 Brazil P.1 was detected in a person from the Twin Cities area who recently traveled to Brazil, according to CBS Minnesota.
The person was ill during the first week of January and was tested coronavirus on January 9th.
MDH discovered the case through a random audit that the agency conducts weekly. Fifty samples from test partners were collected, including clinical laboratories at the University of Minnesota and Infinity Biologix Laboratory in Oakdale.
Minnesota Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm stressed the importance of the testing program and also why it is important to limit the spread of COVID-19.
“The fewer people receive COVID-19, the less chance the virus has of evolving,” Malcolm said in a statement. “The good news is that we can curb the spread of this variant and all variants of COVID-19 by using proven prevention methods of wearing masks, maintaining social distance, staying home when sick, and doing- it is tested when appropriate “.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Brazilian variant “was first identified in four travelers from Brazil, who were tested during routine screening at Haneda Airport, outside Tokyo, Japan.” .
An additional variant, known as variant B 1.1.7 or variant of the United Kingdom, has also been detected in several countries, including the United States and Canada. A South African variant known as 1,351 has not yet been detected in the US
The United States set a serious milestone earlier this week when COVID-19 cases exceeded 25 million, according to data reported by Johns Hopkins University. Worldwide, 99 million cases have been reported.
About 421,000 people have died from COVID-19 in the U.S., while more than 2.1 million people have died worldwide from COVID-19.