Coronavirus Variant From U.K. Found In 10 Michigan Counties

MICHIGAN — Cases of a faster-spreading coronavirus variant from the United Kingdom have been confirmed in 10 Michigan counties, according to Michigan Department of Health and Human Services officials.

After the first 28 confirmed cases of the variant, B.1.1.7, were confirmed in Wayne and Washtenaw counties, MDHHS spokeswoman Lynn Sutfin told Patch that 45 cases of the variant have been confirmed in Michigan as of Monday.

Washtenaw County leads the state with 23 cases of the variant having been confirmed there while six B.1.1.7 cases have been confirmed in Wayne County. Four cases of the variant have been confirmed in both Calhoun and Kalamazoo county while Charlevoix, Eaton, Kent, Macomb, Sanilac and Van Buren have each reported one case, Sutfin said.

The Barry-Eaton District Health Department reported that a person in Eaton County had tested positive for the B.1.1.7 variant and urged people to continue taking precautions against the virus. The same day, the Kent County Health Department reported that a resident had been confirmed to have to the variant.

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“Fundamentally this is a race for the coverage of our population; a race that pits vaccination efforts against the transmission of infections,” Ken County Health Director Adam London said. “While we work to minimize the impact of COVID-19 infections, the B.1.1.7 variant is giving the virus increased velocity.”

The state reported its first case of the coronavirus variant on Jan. 16, when a Washtenaw County woman tested positive for B.1.1.7 after she traveled to the United Kingdom, where the variant was widely identified, officials said.

Many of the early cases had ties to the University of Michigan, prompting the university to pause its athletics for two weeks.

Officials said previously that while the U.K. coronavirus variant is more easily spread, it does not yet appear to cause more severe disease. Keny County officials said that compared to the original virus, the B.1.1.7 variant is about 50 percent more transmissible, leading to faster spread of the virus and potentially increasing numbers of cases, hospitalizations and deaths.

As of Saturday, when the state last reported its coronavirus data, Michigan had confirmed more than 567,000 total cases of the coronavirus. The number of reported COVID-19 deaths in Michigan is approaching 15,000.

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