Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont’s office reported on Monday, March 8 the Department of Health has now seen a total of 81 confirmed cases of the B.1.1.7 variant, more commonly known as the UK strain.
The latest data comes as 15 new cases of the variant were confirmed in Connecticut.
The 15 individuals are residents of the following towns:
- Waterbury (3);
- East Canaan (2);
- Beacon Falls (1);
- Bridgeport (1);
- Hamden (1);
- Middletown (1);
- New Hartford (1);
- North Haven (1);
- Oxford (1);
- Rocky Hill (1);
- Southington (1);
- Westbrook (1).
Officials have said that the UK strain is up to 90 percent more contagious than the common strain, but it has not proven to be more lethal.
According to state health officials, “The specimen collection dates for these newly identified cases are from between (Friday) Jan. 29 and (Wednesday) Feb. 17, 2021, and the individuals involved range in age from 15 to 55 years old.”
“Don’t lift your guard,” Lamont said on Monday. “It’s linear, and not an exponential climb, but it’s still something we pay attention to.”
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