South African Coronavirus Variant Found In Glen Head Patient

GLEN HEAD, NY — The South African variant of the COVID-19 virus has been found in a patient from Glen Head, making it the first such case involving a New York resident, Nassau County officials said.

The variant has been confirmed in the resident, but officials do not believe it is “more deadly,”however, it may be more contagious, Nassau County Executive Laura Curran said on her Facebookpage Sunday. “The best response is to continue the tried and true precautions: wearing masks, avoiding social gatherings, distancing, and staying home and getting tested when sick,” she wrote.

Sequencing to determine the origin of the virus was conducted at Opentrons Labworks Inc’s Response Lab in New York City, and it was later verified by the Wadsworth Center in Albany. The South African variant was also found in a Connecticut resident who was hospitalized in New York City last week.

Curran said that case numbers and positivity rates in the Nassau are continuing to drop, but residents “need to keep that progress going,” and she noted that State data shows the county is New York’s “leading large county in vaccinations.” In the meantime, Curran noted the county’s Department of Health will “continue to get as many shots in arms as quickly as we can.”

Lisa Finn contributed additional reporting to this story.