US: South African COVID strain found in New York state resident

Governor Andrew Cuomo announces the discovery of the new variant as he urges people to stay vigilant.

The first case of a fast-spreading coronavirus variant from South Africa has been discovered in a resident of the US state of New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo said. Cuomo said on Sunday the case, a person from Nassau County, was detected at the Opentrons Labworks Inc’s Pandemic Response Lab. The mutated strain of the coronavirus, which was first detected in South Africa, was first discovered in the US last month. Cuomo’s remarks came as New York State’s positivity rate dropped below 3 percent for the first time since November 3 and the number of hospitalisations is dropping.