Montco Seeing Increasing Cases Of UK Variant

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PA — The more contagious variant of coronavirus which originated in the United Kingdom has begun to take hold in Montgomery County.

After the first confirmed cases were found weeks ago, it was unclear how quickly the variant might spread as the weather warmed and vaccinations increased. However, after weeks of decline, overall cases saw an increase over the past week.

"All of our numbers are going the wrong way," Montgomery County Commissioner Val Arkoosh said Wednesday.

All told, there have been 35 confirmed cases of the UK variant in the county. Because testing for the variant is complex and takes time, officials have noted in the past that the actual number of cases could be higher than what has been confirmed.

In states like Connecticut, the new variant represents up to 30 to 40 percent of all cases, officials estimate.

RELATED: Montgomery County Sees Slight Rise In Coronavirus Cases

The "B117" United Kingdom variant of the virus is one of several variants that have popped up around the world in recent months. The U.K. variant is believed to be about one and a half times more contagious than the regular variant

Arkoosh said about 20 percent of recently infected individuals said they'd been going into an office for work, while another 16 percent said they were going into a school. Others had been to sporting events and private parties.

"Nothing's really changed in terms of what we've seen for months," she said, pointing to the behaviors of local residents. "The risks haven't changed and if anything the risks have gone up a little bit, because there's these more contagious variants out there in the county."

The vaccines appear to still be effective against the UK variant; there are variants out of Brazil and South Africa against which the Moderna vaccine may not be as effective.

Residents should still not travel or gather in small groups as spring break and the holidays approach, and social distancing and wearing masks are still recommended. "We are by no means out of this yet," she added.