New COVID-19 strain found in rural southwestern Kansas, public health officials say
Kansas public health officials are investigating the first case of an emerging COVID-19 variant after a person in a remote area in the southwestern part of the state recently fell ill with the strain.
The new strain, named the South African variant, was first discovered in Kansas in a patient treated for the virus in Finney County, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment said Friday. Officials are investigating how the person came to be infected with the strain.
Other details about the patient were not immediately disclosed by the state’s public health department.
The variant was first identified in South Africa in December. Since then, it has been found in 31 U.S. states and territories, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Health officials are uncertain whether the strain causes more serious illness or spreads faster than others. The strain is more resistant to vaccination, the state’s health department said, though health officials continue to advise that vaccines“ still provide strong protection against severe illness and death.”
In a statement Friday, KDHE Secretary Dr. Lee Norman advised people to “take the appropriate precautions.”
“This includes wearing a mask that fits snuggly around the nose and face and has multiple layers of fabric or layering thinner masks with an additional cloth face mask to improve the fit,” Norman said. “Kansans should also follow isolation and quarantine recommendations, practice physical distancing, good hygiene, staying home if ill and getting the vaccine if you are able to.”
News of the new strain in Kansas comes after another strain, known as the U.K. variant, was previously identified in the state. KDHE said there were 76 cases of that strain in 14 counties as of Friday.
Public health officials are reminding Kansans that free COVID-19 testing is available to its residents. Those seeking a test may find a location by visiting gogettested.com/kansas.
This story was originally published April 2, 2021 at 3:46 PM.
