US: Colorado Confirms First Case of British COVID-19 Strain

Colorado Governor Jared Polis on Tuesday announced that the British COVID-19 variant was identified in a young man who has no travel history.

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He will remain in isolation until cleared by health officials. No close contacts of the man have been identified yet, but authorities are working on contact tracing.

The Colorado state lab was the first in the country to quickly identify the variant through sophisticated analysis of testing samples. The lab confirmed and notified the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the case.

"The health and safety of Coloradans is our top priority and we will closely monitor this case, as well as all COVID-19 indicators, very closely. We are working to prevent spread and contain the virus at all levels," Polis said.

Countries around the world have tightened their restrictive measures after Britain recently announced the discovery of the new variant of SARS-CoV-2.

Viruses constantly change through mutation, and preliminary analysis suggests that this strain may be up to 70 percent more transmissible than previously circulating variants.

A new order took effect in the United States on Monday which requires air passengers arriving in the  country from Britain to test negative, no more than 72 hours before departure.

The United States has recorded nearly 19.5 million cases with over 337,400 related deaths as of Tuesday afternoon.