Most contagious variant of the new coronavirus detected in Colorado

#Authorities in the #United #States reported on #Tuesday the first known case in the country of the most contagious variant of the new coronavirus that was initially detected in the #United #Kingdom.

#It is a case of a young man who is currently in isolation in #Elbert #County, #Colorado, and who has no travel history, reported the office of the state #Governor, #Jared #Polis, on his #Twitter account.

“#He has no close contacts identified so far, but public health officials are working to identify other cases and potential contacts through in-depth contact tracing interviews,” the office said.

#According to The #Washington #Post, the variant has been detected in at least 17 countries outside the UK. #Canada was the first nation to report a case in #America and #Chile did the same today for the #Latin #American region.

#According to #British scientists, the mutation is up to 70 percent more transmissible, but there is no evidence that it is more lethal.