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Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont announced on Monday, Jan. 25 that the new cases have been confirmed, with the eight infected individuals ranging in age from 15 to 50.
Three cases each have been reported in Oxford and West Haven, with two in New Haven.
Lamont said that two of the newly identified cases live in the same household, but there does not appear to be a link between any of the other new or previous cases.
According to the Connecticut Department of Health, one individual recently traveled to the United Arab Emirates and had contact with a person who tested positive for COVID-19 there.
Travel histories on the other three positive cases has not been released.
“This new strain is spreading quickly throughout the world and it’s highly likely that these are not the only eight cases in Connecticut, which is why it is so important that everyone continues taking precautions to prevent transmission,” Lamont said.
“he health of Connecticut residents remains our top priority, and our public health officials will continue to closely monitor these cases and any other developments with this contagious virus.”
Though the UK strain is believed to be no more lethal than the original strain, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said last week that preliminary evidence shows that there may be new proof that it is in fact more lethal.
“We’ve been informed today that in addition to spreading more quickly, it also now appears that there is some evidence that the new variant — the variant that was first discovered in London and the southeast (of England) — may be associated with a higher degree of mortality,” he said in a news conference.
“If you took ... a man in their 60s, the average risk is that for 1,000 people who got infected, roughly 10 would be expected to unfortunately die with the virus,” he added. “With the new variant, for 1,000 people infected roughly 13 or 14 people might be expected to die.”
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