First variant case found in Kansas: More contagious UK coronavirus is in Ellis County
Kansas public health officials have identified the first known case of a coronavirus variant in the state.
“A Kansas resident in Ellis County was found to have the United Kingdom, or UK, variant known as B.1.1.7.,” the Kansas Department of Health and Environment said in a Wednesday evening news release.
The case investigation is ongoing to determine how the person became infected with the variant and who else has been exposed.
The patient is a student-athlete at Fort Hays State University, according to a Thursday news release from the university and the Ellis County Health Department. The case was identified through the school’s weekly testing program for student-athletes.
The KDHE is sending a mobile laboratory to the university, which can provide COVID-19 test results within four hours. Samples will be sent to the state’s lab for genome sequencing to identify potential variants.
Coronavirus variants spread faster and more easily, which health officials warn could lead to surges in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported that the UK variant has been found in 33 U.S. states, and Kansas is apparently now the 34th.
“This finding does not change our public health recommendations,” KDHE secertary Dr. Lee Norman said in a statement. “We continue to encourage people to take the appropriate precautions: follow isolation and quarantine recommendations, practice physical distancing, wearing masks, good hygiene, staying home if ill and getting the vaccine if you are able to, once the supply is sufficient.”
The variant was identified through whole genome sequencing conducted by KDHE laboratories.
According to the CDC, scientists in the UK have reported that evidence suggests the UK variant may be associated with an increased risk of death, though additional studies are needed to confirm the finding.
In addition to the UK variant, mutated coronavirus that were first identified in South Africa and Brazil have now been detected in the U.S.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, said Friday that the best recipe to prevent more mutations is to accelerate the pace of vaccinations. Both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines appear to protect against the new variants.
“But to the degree that it’s protective is yet to be known,” Norman said on Tuesday, speaking about protection against the variants.
Coronavirus trends have improved in Kansas over the past month since spiking after the holidays. But Dr. Steve Stites, the chief medical officer at the University of Kansas Health System, said on Tuesday that another surge could happen if the variants “take off.”
“With these variants coming out, they look like they’re so much more infectious,” Stites said. “They spread pretty rapidly.”
Because of the emerging variants, Johnson County’s health officials told commissioners now is not the time to relax COVID-19 rules on gatherings, masks and restaurant and bar curfews.
“We really do not yet know the effect of the incoming variant,” said health officer Dr. Joseph LeMaster. “We know that the UK variant is either here or will be here shortly, and the possibility of additional surges or increases in cases during the next couple of months is there.”
Sedgwick County’s health officer on Tuesday relaxed the restrictions in his order. On Wednesday, the county commission further softened the order.
“I felt it was reasonable to relax on some of the restrictions in the county order to hopefully improve the situation for small businesses and other entities that have suffered through this pandemic,” said Dr. Garold Minns, the Sedgwick County health officer, citing improvement in pandemic indicators.
This story was originally published February 3, 2021 at 6:39 PM with the headline "First variant case found in Kansas: More contagious UK coronavirus is in Ellis County."